Galacta: The story of Galactic Knight
by Zero-Three
Summary: What if Galacta Knight of KSSU was in the plot of the show? What would his story be – his ties with Meta Knight and the Galaxy Soldier Army? This is primarily a Kirby show/Kirby Super Star Ultra game crossover, set in the show's universe.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** This is a Kirby Super Star Ultra/Hoshi no Kaabi crossover, set in the show's universe but with several characters from the games. Please R&R – this is my first Fic in years so my writing is pretty rusty. Don't be afraid to be snarky though as constructive criticism will help me improve!

**CHAPTER 1**

Nova drifted quietly through space.

The being appeared to be comprised of a variety of odd debris and machinery. His appearance was not unlike that of a giant pocket watch, with a large, golden "face" and two enormous, pale blue eyes. Framed around his face was a blue and gold sun design, behind which various machine parts seemed to jut out in random places. Among the parts were some disturbingly familiar objects such as a clock, a pendulum and a weathervane. Behind him, four large engine clusters shot the white hot flames that powered him through space.

The unusual celestial body had been orbiting silently through space for millennia. Although sentient, he would always lay dormant unless summoned. Being comprised of largely mechanical parts, Nova was of course not a natural comet - how he had come to be is a mystery, but he had been a part of the galaxy for as long as anyone can remember.

Nova laid asleep, eyes closed as he drifted through space quietly. He was slowly moving closer to the planet Popstar due to the direction his orbit had taken. His form was dwarfed by the yellow, star-shaped planet.

Suddenly, he shuddered – the gears began to whir, the clock began to tick. An enormous, pale blue eye suddenly cracked open, tiny bits of ice and debris falling as the comet stirred to life once again. Nova's internal systems had awoken him, though as his large eyes scanned the empty space around him he could see that it was not because he was summoned. He lapsed into silent thought. He had not been raised for any reason, what was the cause? Slowly, the gears within him turned as his large form began to rotate in place, scanning the area. As he did so, his pale eyes caught sight of something unusual in the distance… a blue dot.

"Wow, look at that big yellow thing!"

Meanwhile, on the planet itself, the creatures living in Whispy Woods were beginning to gather in a clearing to witness the odd scene above. Among them were several Poppy Bros. The two looked nearly identical, one dressed in green and one blue, with innocent faces and large, black eyes. Marx, a purple, jester- like creature with an oversized hat and shoes, stood amongst them.

"Is it a second moon?" one of the Poppy Bros. wondered.

"Of course not, dimwit." Marx snipped. "It's the comet, Nova."

"Really?" One of the Poppy Bros. wondered aloud. "He isn't usually in the sky. Why's he here? Was he summoned by someone?"

Marx was silent for a time, before his interest diverted to something else in the night sky. His eyes grew wide in fear. "I don't know," Marx said slowly, "but he should get moving."

"Why?" one of the brothers questioned.

Marx gestured towards the object that had drawn his attention. From their viewpoint, it was a beautiful sight – a tiny, blue comet streaked across the black sky, leaving a long trail of silvery blue in its wake.

"Ooooh" the Poppy bros. murmured softly to themselves, "How pretty…"

Marx turned to look at them incredulously. "Pretty, eh? Well that 'pretty' thing is heading straight for Nova!"

"What?" The Poppies exclaimed as the gravity of the situation slowly dawned on them. The two began to cower, holding each other as they looked up. "They're going to crash into each other!" they cried.

Meanwhile a Waddle Doo ambled over before folding its small arms, closing its eye as it sniffed at the group. "Why are you guys worried?" the red Waddle Doo asked in a high pitched, raspy voice. "It's Nova. Did you forget how powerful he is? He'll blast that thing to bits before it can even come close."

Marx tore his gaze away from the sky to glare at him. "His power doesn't matter at this point! The comet would splinter into a bunch of smaller rocks which would still be hurtling towards him in the same direction, with the same force. No matter what Nova does he will get hit, unless he can move out of the way in time."

The Waddle Doo's eye opened in surprise at his theory being debunked so quickly. "Well, he could just blast those bits to bits too…" he sputtered, before quietly joining the others in watching what will happen.  
Marx didn't respond smugly as usual – he barely heard the Waddle Doo's response. All eyes were trained on the blue comet hurtling towards Nova.

The second Nova's blue eyes locked on the small object, his system began to run calculations. His vision zoomed in on the speeding rock, deciphering what the object was and the path of its intended trajectory. It was not long before the numbers told Nova that he was in great danger – his internal system was right to rouse him. The comet was enormous, roughly 1/3rd the size of Nova himself, and was on a dead on collision course with him. Even worse, Nova could tell that moving away at his own top speed would not be enough to get out of the comet's destructive path. It was too close.

Nova felt no fear. He closed its eyes, and awaited the inevitable.

The growing group of concerned onlookers on the ground gasped and pointed as the comet flew towards Nova. A flock of yellow Twizzies had come to nest in the nearby trees, quietly twittering to themselves and to the Birdons who roosted beside them. It was far past the bird's bedtime, but the event had everyone wide awake.

"There's no way he can escape. It's going to hit him." Marx said quietly.

"But doesn't Nova watch over us all?" one of the Poppies asked, leaving his brother behind to cling to Marx nervously. Marx, being quite intelligent (if a bit sarcastic) was considered the wisest of the forest, and was quite often pestered by its dimmer residents. The other Poppy clung to the other side of Marx's body, looking equally scared.  
"If Nova dies, what will that mean for us down here? Will there be no more wishes?"

Marx growled, shrugging them both off. "How should I know? Jeeze."

The Poppies backed up, and were stammering an apology before they were interrupted by a gasp from the crowd. They quickly looked to the sky to see that Marx's fear had come true - the comet hit. A silent white flash engulfed both figures, spreading out to illuminate the entire sky in silvery white not unlike a flash of lightning, before disappearing abruptly. At first, the forest creatures couldn't make out what happened. For a time after wards, the sky was too clouded by debris to see anything. Marx squinted, eyes narrowed as he scanned the horizon frantically.

"Nova…? Yes, that's Nova!" Marx shouted. "I see him! …Sort of."

Everyone's eyes strained at the sky to see what appeared to be Nova – but all they could make out were a few tiny, golden pieces.

Nova could feel his body being ripped apart as the comet impacted him. There was no pain - only a sense of wonder as he watched bits of his own body go spinning off into space. He could feel the thud, the heat of the impact, the immense pressure of his insides being ripped apart... then nothing.

In time, his system was able to weakly start up again. His large, blue eyes began to open, the light behind them dimmed out so that they appeared as dark, semi transparent holes. Although greatly weakened, as Nova became more aware he could feel that he was still functioning. He quickly ran a diagnostic to access the damage. A sizable chunk had been taken out of him. Various remnants from the impact floated in space, forming a sea of debris that was a mixture of his own body and the remnants of the comet. His core had survived, a testament to the powerful metals that made up his massive body. However, he was missing parts of his protective golden shell, revealing much of the underlying framework to the cold vacuum of space.

He immediately began to repair himself. He closed his eyes as the few remaining working gears began to spin. Slowly, parts of his mechanical innards began to cluster around the broken parts of his outer shell, sparks flying as they began to restore what metal had been lost.

Despite the major impact, everything seemed okay with what remained of Nova. However, there was a destructive force inside of him. One that, like Nova, had been awakened at the first sign of the dangerous impact. While Nova himself looked to the comet with dread, the tiny force deep within him looked to it with joy. It had been fighting for its freedom for eons, and now that the clockwork comet that was his prison had been damaged, it finally had a chance to break free once and for all.

While repairing, Nova suddenly felt a sharp disturbance within him not unlike when a creature of flesh and blood feels a stomach ache. His eyes widened as he realized what was causing it, and all repair work stopped on his wounded body to keep the destructive force imprisoned. His gears began to spin blindingly fast, whatever mechanical parts he could muster trying to close up his weak spot as he spent what little power he had left to contain the force within. However, the comet impact had rendered him too weak.

A powerful blow was dealt to Nova from the inside, weakening him further. Too damaged to control his gravity, Nova 's huge body drifted to its side. His back engines shut down entirely, and he began to freely rotate in space. Nova's now dim eyes rolled to the back of his head as his already weakened framework was continually assaulted from the inside, with blow after blow. The imprisoned creature within Nova grinned, sensing his longtime captor's weakness. With one final strike, a tiny white form shot out from the seared wreckage that was Nova's body. It rocketed away from the remains of the battered comet, heading straight for Popstar.

Life in Dreamland began as usual. The sun rose to the chorus of thousands of birds, spreading its gentle, orange rays over the countryside. The Cappy residents of Pupu Village began to stir, awaken, and go about their business. Police Chief Borun headed to his office after a breakfast of coffee and donuts with a yawn – the village had been in peace for so long that he, for the most part, had nothing to do at his job aside from stepping in on the odd petty crime every once in a while.

Today, he discovered, would be different.

As he lifted the keys to unlock his office door, he realized his keys were shaking slightly. A dim rumble was heard in the distance. He looked up at the sky, which was slowly fading from pale yellow sunrise to the blue of day. The sky was gorgeous, with no traces of bad weather - there wasn't a cloud in sight.

"Strange," he muttered to himself as he fiddled with his keys, "Could've sworn I heard thunder."

He entered his office before flopping down on his old chair, munching the remnants of the morning's doughnut idly as he began to flip through the morning paper. He had hardly begun to read the first page when his phone began to ring. He picked it up to hear a terrified Mabel on the other line, screaming incoherently.

"Easy, Mabel", Borun said soothingly, holding the phone away from his ear to spare himself the hysterical screaming response on the other line. After a pause, he gingerly put the phone to his ear again. "What happened?" he asked.

"It's horrible," Mabel wailed. "My shop is ruined, ruined! It's a miracle that I'm still alive! Something from above destroyed it, all I saw was a flash of light. This must be a rogue demon beast – Nightmare has returned!" She wailed, before devolving into unintelligible sobs again.

"Hold on, Mabel, I'll be right th- sorry, hold on. I have another caller."

Borun put the hysterical fortune teller on hold, switching to the other line. He answered the caller with a hesitant "Hello?"

The voice of a familiar young male answered.

"Borun, its Tazo." The voice said, sounding more stable than Mabel's but still obviously shaken. "My store has been destroyed. I had arrived early to oversee a toy shipment when –"

Borun's phone began to beep, indicating that yet another caller was trying to reach him, than another. "Hold on, Tazo, hello? One second, miss…hello? Hello?!" The poor officer was being bombarded with calls.  
Suddenly, an impact happened nearby to him with a loud boom. His office shook from the noise, papers flying everywhere. He was thrown off balance from the blast, clinging desperately to his desk as the impact rattled his entire office violently. As soon as it subsided he abandoned his desk, leaving the still ringing phone behind, and dashed outside. As soon as he stepped out, he looked towards the sky. A bright, scythe-shaped beam from above was flying towards him. Immediately he ran out of its path and dived for cover, just in time as the office behind him took the hit and erupted in a fiery ball of flames.

Borun was sent flying, the blast of energy knocking him a few feet. His body was tossed like a ragdoll before it hit the ground, tumbling along in a roll before slowing to a stop. He lay on the ground for a few seconds, dazed. When Borun managed to look up, he saw something that could only be described as surreal.

The village he knew had within the span of a few minutes gone from a calm, friendly place to a war-torn hellhole. Houses, buildings and offices alike were destroyed, their remains gutted and burning. People ran through the streets in a panic. Some families stood outside of their destroyed homes in a daze, still in their morning pajamas. The men were shouting, women and children were crying.

As the policeman tried to regain his composure, he heard a high pitched voice shriek "Up there!" He looked up, mouth dropping slightly as he laid eyes on the cause of the village's ruin.

It was a small, round creature with white, feathered wings. It wore a white mask not unlike Meta Knight's except that it was in a cross shape. The mask crowned with curved golden horns, and within the cross hid glowing, red eyes. Borun only got a brief glimpse of the creature before it zipped away, flying to another part of town before firing off what appeared to be a series of sword beams onto the helpless village indiscriminately. The village rang with cries of confused and anguished villagers.

"Demon beast!" "Nightmare!" "It's Sir Meta Knight, he's gone mad!"

Borun staggered to his feet, waving his arms about as he walked towards the screaming crowd of villagers. He knew from the sheer scale of the destruction that he was helpless, but as a position of authority it was his job to stay strong for the public in times like these. "Now, everyone, stay calm…


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The silence of king Dedede's castle hallways was suddenly broken by the clink-clink of plated sabatons on stone. Sword and Blade dashed down the quiet halls, nearly trampling each other in their rush to reach Meta Knight's private quarters. Simultaneously they burst into the room without a knock, panting from exertion.

"Sir Meta Knight!" Blade Knight gasped. "The village is under attack…"

His voice trailed off as he realized that Meta Knight was already awake with his back to the two, staring out the window. His cape was wrapped tightly around him as always, gaze focused on the plume of smoke rising from the tiny town framed within his window's view.

Upon hearing his minions he turned to them, cape whisked aside as he reached for his sword. "Let's go."

As the three turned to leave, they found their exit blocked by two small figures. Fumu and Bun stood in the doorway, their faces grim.

"Sir Meta Knight," Fumu began, "something is wro-"

"We know" Meta Knight replied tersely.

"Excuse us, guys" Blade Knight interjected in a kinder tone as the three Knights tried to go past them. "We need to get down there!"

The two didn't move. Bun's hands clenched into fists as he stared at the knights, defiant. "Let us come with you!"

"No." Sword Knight spoke up, waving his hand dismissively at the two. "It's far too dangerous."

"You don't understand, Sir Meta Knight needs us!" Fumu responded, putting her hands on her hips as she stared up at the two's expressionless helmets. "The dangerous part, the thing that caused this, has already passed". She turned to Meta Knight. "Whatever being caused this disaster bore a bit of a resemblance to you, Sir, and there are many villagers that actually believe it _was _you that caused it. I can help talk them to their senses. Please understand!"

Upon hearing Fumu say "resemblance", Meta Knight stiffened. His eyes grew wide for a brief second. Though the change was subtle, Sword and Blade were used to his ways and eyed each other warily at his reaction. After a slight pause, Meta Knight seemed to regain his composure. He cleared his throat, fixing his unblinking gaze on the two youngsters.

"You may come…but stay behind us. Don't wander off, or get into trouble."

Bun pumped his fist in the air excitedly, while Fumu nodded in quiet approval.

"Yesss! Thanks, sir!" Bun cried excitedly. "You can count on us!"

Blade, Meta Knight and the two children walked out of the room quickly. Sword Knight stood still for a second as the others left, watching them go in disbelief. At first he couldn't believe that Meta Knight would allow the young ones to come in order to protect his own image, but as he reluctantly began to trot after them he realized that Meta Knight was not entirely thinking of himself.

If Dedede and Escargon caught wind of the negative connotations associated with this creature, they would certainly begin a smear campaign angled towards Kirby. It would without a doubt destroy Meta Knight's reputation but far worse, hamper Kirby's as well. Only Fumu's trusted standpoint could combat the rumors before they began. The foolish, sheep-like villagers would be dooming themselves without Kirby or Meta Knight protecting them from their own king.

As the group exited the castle, they passed the large room of King Dedede himself. Fumu stopped momentarily, peeking through the cracked door into his room. The rotund blue king was curled up in his bed, snoring quite loudly. He was a very sound sleeper, and none of the distant noises from the village had caused him to so much as flinch. Fumu couldn't help but take solace in the fact that he had not caught wind of it yet, and knowing how lazy he was, probably wouldn't for a good long while. She left the doorway, softly treading after the others until certain that she was out of hearing range. The group exited the castle's gates, heading towards the village.

The five arrived at Pupu village to see the bloody aftermath. The creature that caused this had long since left by the time they arrived, leaving behind the hollowed-out shells of homes, many still on fire, and the injured residents and workers who once lived in them. Little was left; the village had been razed.

"This is horrible…" Bun said, his tousled hair hiding the tears that began to form in his eyes.

Fumu did not have any way to hide her own tears, and put a comforting arm around her younger brother as they carefully picked their way through the rubble. Meta Knight walked in front of the procession, seemingly unphased by the destruction. Every once in a while, the cold yellow eyes within his mask would rest upon the sight of a destroyed home or charred body before they quickly snapped back onto what was left of the road. He remained silent.

The group met up with Chief Borun, who told them about what he saw earlier and readily agreed to help interview the villagers.

Fumu, Bun, Chief Borun and the Knights moved as a group from Cappy to Cappy, questioning the few uninjured villagers as to what happened earlier that morning. Most of the reactions, while understandable, were not helpful to their cause. Much of it was screaming, crying, and mourning over the loss of their property or loved ones. True to what Fumu had worried about earlier, a few villagers blamed Meta Knight for the destruction because the being that done it had coincidentally looked very similar to him – a round, winged figure in a white mask. Fumu was quick to dispel the rumor that either he or Kirby had anything to do with it, fearing that if Dedede and Escargon heard the theory that they'd run wild with it and ruin the names of both Star Warriors.

Several villagers, however, had gotten a close enough look at the thing to provide important information - Borun himself included. The descriptions by nearly all accounts were identical. Reports described a horned, winged figure with glowing red eyes. It had a small, round body type similar to Kirby and Meta Knight, and armor not unlike Meta Knight's complete with a white mask. From a distance, it was easy to see how the villagers got the two confused.  
Upon first hearing this description from Chief Borun, Meta Knight gasped. His gloved hands clenched into fists, shaking slightly before he turned away from the crowd and walked back a few paces. He quickly wrapped his cloak around himself again, eyes glowing red. Blade Knight and Sword Knight watched him go, lowering their heads.

Fumu wondered why the three seemed to strongly react at once, and excused herself politely from the investigators before trotting after him. She put her hand on his shoulder, leaning in to whisper, "You know this guy, don't you…?"

Startled out of his thoughts, Meta Knight visibly twitched before standing still for a few tense seconds.

He replied in a hoarse whisper, "I'll tell you who I think it is later. Don't make it look like we're hiding something, the others are watching!"

Fumu drew back in surprise, before letting go of him and wandering back to the others.

After they had learned what they could from the village, Fumu wondered what they should do next.

"One witness swore that this was tied to an incident the night before. She said something weird happened in the skies above Whispy Woods", Blade Knight said.

"We should go there next, then" Fumu replied. "I bet Coo would know!"

The others agreed, and after a short rest began the trek towards the woods. Borun stayed behind, as the services of him and any other capable men were needed in order to provide emergency repair and medical work on the wreckage. He watched them go until the group was nothing but a tiny dot on the grassy countryside, disappearing from his sight.

He adjusted his hat with a sigh before slowly turning around to face his own task. He needed to attend to rescue work, and fast – but there were so many injured souls, so many bodies he may find that day that were not alive, that could've been saved if found moments sooner. The moans of injured Cappies mixed with the merry sounds of chirping birds and bugs from nearby trees to create a surreal contrast. He paused as he walked back into the remnants of a village, kicking a small rock in a sudden fit of anger. As if causing a tiny bit of destruction of his own would make him feel better.

The walk itself was pleasant after the party had left the grim village behind. The sun had risen higher in the sky, turning the beautiful morning into a warm, sunny day. The sky was still devoid of any clouds, and it was just warm enough outside to be comfortable – not hot or humid at all. This was the mild weather that the Dreamland region was known and loved for. The group was far too bogged down with their own worries to enjoy the beautiful weather, however. They walked with their heads low, silently brooding or trying to piece together what had happened. Bun was still sniffling softly, the horrors from earlier etched permanently into his young mind.

"Sir," Fumu began, "you promised earlier that you'd tell me about this guy."

Meta Knight pretended not to hear her at first, staring fixedly ahead as they walked.

Fumu clenched her fists – she knew he wasn't usually a big talker, but now was not the time with the lives of others at stake. "Please, sir. The more we all know, the more we can do to stop him…"

Meta Knight stared at her out of the corner of his eye, unblinking. "If what I believe is true, then he's a former Star Warrior with a score to settle." He said quietly.

"With you?" Fumu asked.

Meta Knight tore his gaze away, looking downward. "I'll tell you more later." He said, before picking up his pace to join Sword and Blade.

Fumu watched him go, sighing inwardly. "Again with the later!" she thought angrily. "Why does he have to be so stubborn?"

Bun looked up at Fumu, a small smile forming through his tears as he recognized an expression often seen on his poor sister's face – exasperation. He wiped his remaining tears away in an attempt to look tough, lowering his voice to a whisper before leaning in close to Fumu as the two lagged behind in their walk.

"Don't worry about it. He's a weird old guy, you know that. I'm sure he wouldn't keep anything from us that would harm the village or castle…maybe he doesn't even know!"

Fumu looked at Bun as her tense expression eased into a smile, nodding. "You're right. He may have his moods, but would never deliberately endanger us."

In time the group reached Whispy Woods, the beautiful forest which was once to be the site of the selfish king Dedede's golf course. The open, sunny fields were left behind them as they became enveloped in a sea of soft green trees and shrubs. A narrow trail winded through the thick woods, providing the group a way to navigate without the knights having to hack their way through. However, it was so small that they were forced to all walk single file.  
The small procession formed with Blade Knight in front, Meta Knight behind him, followed by the two children and finally Sword Knight as a rear guard.

In time they reached a clearing, the trees and brush suddenly giving way to a tiny meadow. Sunlight beat down upon the group as they entered the area, their eyes squinting instinctively as they adjusted from the dark cover of leaves to light again. It was not long after entering that they were nearly dive-bombed by a very big and upset owl.

"Fumu, Bun! Knights!" Coo cried, flapping his wings frantically. "I bet you guys are here because of the weird thing that happened in the sky last night! It was awful."

"Hey, Coo." Fumu said, waving to the owl. As the large bird flew past the group to land in a tree that overlooked the meadow, his words began to sink in.

"Hmm…", Fumu began. She walked over to the tree, hands on her hips as she looked up at him. "You saw a strange thing in the sky?"

The other Knights exchanged glances – it was not hard to figure out that whatever the owl had seen could have to do with the events that took place that morning.

The owl nodded, his usually wise and calm demeanor blown away by fear. "Yes, yes. Late last night."

Coo relayed what he saw. He told of a golden orb in the sky, a bright flash of light, and a blue comet. He only understood the happenings in the woods, and so all things of the sky were foreign to him. However, he noted that Marx witnessed it too and seemed to understand what was going on. Fumu nodded in response before turning to the others.

"You heard him, guys. We need to find Marx!" she exclaimed.

As they thanked the large owl and began to file out of the clearing, they heard an odd shuffling in the forest, followed by an impish voice.  
"You rang?"

Suddenly, a fanciful Jester-like creature burst through the woods into the cleaning, balancing precariously on a red and white ball. Marx began to roll towards the party, cackling as he went. Sword and Blade, startled, instinctively leapt forward with blades drawn to protect Meta Knight and their young charges. Upon hearing Coo cry, "Marx!" however, they slowly lowered their blades and backed off, looking from the owl to Marx in confusion.

"Hello, hello, hello!" Marx said in a merry singsong voice.  
He somersaulted off his ball, landing next to it and bowing graciously. Bun clapped; the rest were too stunned to respond at first. Marx tilted his round head to one side as he eyed the visitors, his large violet eyes scanning the crowd.

"Jeeze, you guys are armed to the teeth", he muttered as he walked over to them. Marx eyed the three knights curiously, particularly the make of their swords and armor. Meta Knight wrapped his cape around himself as he glared at Marx, feeling the strange urge to make sure that the clownish creature did not see the sword Galaxia.

"And what brings such tough fighters to our humble woods? Or this...ravishing creature." Marx continued, suddenly putting his face in Fumu's.

"Ugh" Fumu said with a shudder, throwing her hands up as she backed up slightly.

Bun stepped forward to protect her, raising his own hands into fists. Meta Knight tensed at the same time, the glove hidden within the folds of his cape tightening its grip against the hilt of Galaxia.

"This little creep is the key to finding out what happened? Pointed out to us by Coo himself?!" Fumu thought incredulously, but shook her head and put on her best fake smile.

"Hello, Marx." She stammered as she backed away from him. "Pleasure to meet you…I'm Fumu, this is Bun - " she grit her teeth as she said his name, casting Bun a cautionary glance. Bun backed off, but still continued to glare at Marx. " - Blade, Sword, and Sir Meta Knight. I hear you witnessed some strange events in the sky last night. Could you tell us what happened?"

"Anything for you, dear!" Marx replied with a cheeky smile. He turned to face everyone else. "What we in the woods witnessed last night was most likely a collision of two celestial bodies. As you may have known, the golden comet Nova appeared in the sky recently. Last night, a smaller, blue comet headed right towards him!"

The others gasped. After a brief pause, Meta Knight asked him to go on.

"They collided, it looks like." Marx continued. "At first it was really hard to see, there was so much junk and clouds in the way…but after a while, I could make out that Nova was still there – at least somewhat. He looked to be in pieces. As of today it's too bright to really see him well, or I'd point him out to you now. No idea if he's completely destroyed or not. I hope not. We probably won't know until early evening, when it's dark enough to see him again. Well, anyway, that's all I know."

Fumu nodded, the fake smile plastered on her face hiding her disdain."Thanks.." She turned to the others, rubbing her chin in thought.

"I think that's all we're going to get for now. At least we have an idea of what could've caused it…but now we should focus on finding this thing, and destroying it before it can do any more damage!"

The others nodded in agreement, and after saying their goodbyes to Coo and Marx they began to step out of the sunny meadow one by one. Fumu sighed to herself quietly as the group began to go, muttering aloud "That comet story didn't reveal as much as I'd hoped, though…"

"Yes it did", a deep voice replied.

Fumu turned to see Meta Knight. She opened her mouth to question him, but he had already turned his back to her and began to walk out the same tiny path they had come in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** Thanks for the constrictive crit on my formatting! I tried to break this up to make the dialogue a bit easier to see, and will be going back to do so on my previous chapters.

**CHAPTER 3**

Fumu, Bun, and the three Knights left Whispy Woods through the same narrow trail they came, and began to head back towards Dedede's castle. By the time they were on their way home, it was late afternoon. As they rounded one of the soft hills that rolled across the countryside, they caught sight of an unusual black plume rising from the direction of the King's castle.

"Look!" Bun yelled, pointing towards it. They other followed his direction and looked on, stunned.

"The castle!" Fumu cried. A lump formed in her throat as tears immediately began to sting her eyes. She managed to choke out, "Are mom and dad okay?!"

Meta Knight watched for a moment, before his eyes moved slightly to the right. He beckoned the others, waving with a gloved hand.

"We shouldn't run blindly into the castle. Come this way", he said, as he began to walk slightly off course from the direction they were heading in.

As they got closer to the castle grounds, they could see that a full battle was going on. The thing that had caused the village's ruin had returned, and this time set its sights on the castle. Already Dedede's military defenses were pouring out of the castle's doors. Legions of Waddle Dees streamed out of the castle armed with pikes, bows and anything else they could find. They were being swept aside easily by the enemy's sword beams, posing no more of a threat to it than the walls of the hold itself.

The five ducked low as they got closer to the castle, Meta Knight leading them towards the back of the castle grounds beyond the courtyard. He was heading towards a small, abandoned lot behind the castle yard, to what appeared to be an odd mound in the earth that jutted out of the soil. It appeared to be a large, old stone, triangular in shape. The mound was situated at nearly the edge of the cliff that the castle resided on. Moss lined the soft ground around it. The area looked terribly overgrown, and it was obvious that even the diligent castle gardener had not been there in some time.

With a single swipe much of the vegetation had been severed, giving way to the white-hot flash of Meta Knight's sword. He stepped back a few paces, Blade and Sword stepping in to hack at the rest of the mess while Meta Knight turned to face the children.

"This is a secret hiding place, designed to protect the King and his most important servants during invasion. It has been here long before Dedede's reign. We should be safe in it, for now." He turned to Sword and Blade, who were still clearing the vegetation.  
"Sword. Find Parm and Memu, and bring them here. Blade –" he said, turning around to the other knight. "Bring Escargon and Dedede. Anyone else you can find that's not fighting at the castle gates, bring them too. There's plenty of room in the chamber. You can enter and leave without detection via the castle's back door."

"Yes, sir!" The two said in unison, gingerly stepping out of the overgrown, weedy area before they began to charge towards the back of the castle.

Meta Knight nodded as he watched them go, before turning to Fumu and Bun.

"It appears that our enemy is attacking the front castle gates, and have not breached the inner defenses yet. Your parents, and the King, should be safe – at least for now."

Fumu nodded in feigned confidence, though her face was still pale from the sight. "That's good to know." She said.  
Bun nodded in agreement, his face scrunching up as he tried to stay strong in front of the knight and his older sister.

Meta Knight stepped forward, and with a grunt of effort he heaved the old door open. An invisible cloud of dust few out, causing the two children to choke and sputter. Meta Knight's thick mask protected him from the stale air. The three glanced down the square opening – all they could see was pitch black. Meta Knight withdrew a large stick from the depths of his cape and began to step down the crumbling, worn staircase. The two children, preferring to take their chances in the dark hole than the raging battle outside, scurried in after him.

As they began to descend, Meta Knight lit the stick he had been carrying and set it ablaze. The pitch black cellar was bathed in the dim, warm glow of the flickering torch. With their way lit, their descent was much less dangerous, but it didn't do much to put the two young ones at ease. The staircase was ancient, fragile stone that seemed to crumble at each footstep the group took. Though Meta Knight would never admit it, he was just as afraid of losing his footing and plummeting down as the others.

When they reached the bottom, Fumu's jaw dropped. From what she could make out from the dim light of the torch, the large cellar was stocked from top to bottom with books. As her eyes began to adjust to the dark she could also make out that there was quite a collection of antiques stored there, too.

"Look at all of those books!", she thought. "If only I had time to read them…and these artifacts would be of great interest to Curio. Curio…"

she grew quiet, feeling remorse and anger as memories of the morning flooded back to her. All she could see was Curio, injured but not caring, clinging to the remains of one of his artifacts in the rubble that was once his store. He was crying as he held the shattered remains of his life's work and ambition. The feelings brought her back down to earth, and reminded her of what she needed to do.

It was not long before there was a rhythmic pounding on the cellar door above.

"Wait", Meta Knight called as he began to carefully ascend the staircase. He opened the old door to find Sword Knight and two very scared parents.

"Parm! Memu!" Meta Knight greeted them. "It's good to know that you're safe. Your children are, as well. Come."

The four descended the crumbling staircase, the two children staring wide-eyed at their parents. The second their feet touched the floor Parm and Memu ran to the two, giving them a great big hug and sighing in relief.

"Thank goodness you're safe!" Memu exclaimed, stepping back from her family to dab away a tear.

"Agreed! It's terrible out there", Parm said as he affectionately ruffled Bun's hair.

In time, Blade returned with his charges, a bit charred on the helm but otherwise fine. In tow were King Dedede and Escargon, followed by a throng of terrified Waddle Dees. At first the King and his advisor were beyond consolation and demanded all three of the knights get out there and help protect the castle. However, they were quickly quieted when Meta Knight reminded him that his most important job was to protect King Dedede himself, and that was exactly what he was doing.

After the group settled, Fumu turned to Meta Knight.

"Sir…you promised you would tell us what you think this thing is."

Meta Knight looked at her, his eyes beginning to glow green in thought.

"I know…" he replied.

Dedede visibly twitched as he overheard her.

"Wait a sec" he said, leaning over. "You mean you know what this thing is? Speak up, then!"

The others agreed, and at once the stoic knight had a full audience listening to what he had to say. It made him very uncomfortable.

Meta Knight pulled up a chair, sweeping the dust off of it with his glove before offering the seat to Fumu. She thanked him and took the chair, Bun grabbing a nearby chair and joining them while obviously not caring about the thick coat of dust it had obtained. His dirty, smudged face looked at Meta Knight, as did Fumu. The others took the cue and began to grab their own seats, Dedede making poor Escargon dust all of them off before they were able to sit down. Meta Knight sighed as he sat, the knight suddenly appearing quite weary. He looked past the group silently, his gaze cast on nothing. After a long pause, he began.

"This creature appears to be someone who once fought with me and other soldiers in the Galaxy Soldier Army." He began. "He was known as Galactic Knight, sometimes Galacta for short, but what his true name was or if he ever even had one was unknown to us."

As he spoke, his eyes dimmed out within the mask. He was reminiscing as he spoke, regretfully dredging up the long-buried memories...

"Sir Meta Knight!"

The bellow rang through the barracks, echoing against the empty walls. Meta Knight, who was sound asleep in his bunk, awoke from the noise with a startled yell. He flailed about for a couple of seconds before coming to his senses, slowly returning to full consciousness. His white, gloved fists tightened around the side of the bed as he lay wide eyed, panting.

"Sir Meta Knight!" the cry came again, as Sir Kibble ran down the nearly empty barracks calling out for the knight.

Meta Knight muttered an oath as he tossed his dirty, thin blanket aside, sitting up with no small amount of effort.

"What?" he called back.

Sir Kibble came running over to him, panting as he looked up to see the blue knight perched on the top bunk. Upon seeing him Meta Knight leapt out of his bed, landing before Sir Kibble as his dark cape draped around him.  
The golden knight saluted him respectfully, reaching out to him with a creased yellow paper in hand.

"Sir, Galactic Knight wishes to speak to you." Sir Kibble said. "He says it's urgent!"

"Mmm?" Meta Knight responded, his interest piqued as he took the paper. Although Galactic Knight was his superior, the two got along quite well and held a mutual respect for each other. He knew that if Galactic Knight summoned him like this, it was indeed an urgent matter.

"Thank you, Sir Kibble" Meta Knight replied, before excusing himself.

He walked past the young knight, cape tightly wrapped around him as he began to leave the dark barracks. Deep within the folds of his cape, his gloved hand fiddled with the yellow paper nervously.

The hot, dry desert air hit him full force as soon as he exited the enclosure, the warm rush feeling as if he had opened an oven. He could never truly get used to it, despite being stationed in this region for quite some time. The planet, known rather jokingly as Rock Star, was notorious for its harsh terrain. Its surface was covered almost throughout with canyons, mountains, desert. The coarse sand lay bare, baked day after day under the heat of the planet's two suns. Water was scarce, and because of this there was also little plant life. The temperatures were rarely stable and ranged from bitter cold in the polar regions to scorchingly hot everywhere else. It was this planet that Meta Knight was stationed on, under Galactic Knight's unit of soldiers.

He hated it.

He threw aside his cape as he walked, the warm air trapped between the folds being too much for him. His plated sabatons made little pits in the sand as he walked, cape dragging behind him to leave an indentation in the sand not unlike that of a sidewinder. He hurriedly walked towards the circular building in which Galactic Knight and the planet operation's top officers were housed.

Timidly, he cracked open the door to Galactic Knight's office.

"You called, sir?"

In the small, circular room stood a round creature not unlike Meta Knight himself. His dark pink skin was barely visible under the white armor he wore, and the two white, feathered wings on his back. His cross shaped mask was crowned with no golden horns, hid no blood red eyes. Instead, the eyes within the white mask appeared a friendly cyan blue. On his right shoulder, like all other soldiers, was a star-shaped badge indicating his rank within in the army. The knight stood over a squat table, staring intently at a broad piece of paper.

"Sir Meta Knight!" the creature replied, looking up from his papers. "Indeed, I did. Come over here and have a look at this." The feathered one was the planet's top general Galactic Knight.

He stepped aside, waving Meta Knight over. The blue knight obliged, stepping forward to see what this was about. Meta Knight peered over the large paper that Galactic Knight had been staring at - a map of a region on the planet known as the Red Gorge.

"Interesting", Meta Knight murmured as he pored over the map. His yellow eyes fell upon a collection of odd markings scribbled onto the site of the gorge itself. "What exactly is this, sir?"

"Why, the site of our next mission, of course!" Galactic Knight crowed. Meta Knight stiffened, his eyes narrowing to glowing slits as he stared at the map again. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"The Red Gorge?!" he asked again, trying to keep the disbelief out of his voice.

"Of course." Galactic Knight's eyes began to glow brightly as he stepped away from the table. Linking his hands behind his back, he began to pace in a circle.

"As you know", Galactic Knight said, "The Red Gorge is extremely important. To lose it would be a major blow to the Holy Nightmare Corporation…and a major boon to us." He paused, grinning under his mask. "For you see, although Nightmare can create his own minions, even he cannot make something out of nothing. He needs a stream of raw materials from sites such as the Gorge to form a base for his horrific creations. We must take it!" he cried.

He hurried back towards the table, pointing on the diagram on the map excitedly as he talked.

"The gorge has two entrances on opposite sides. In the skies above it fly Nightmare's aerial force. On the bottom, Rockies, Gordos, and other strong defensive units. We will attack first by plane, ambushing Nightmare and distracting his forces. After they have been sufficiently weakened our ground army will pour in from two opposite ends of the Gorge, cornering the remainder of Nightmare's forces."

Meta Knight eyed his superior warily. "But, sir… Nightmare knows this as well as we do. Because of this, the base at Red Gorge is very heavily guarded. We don't have the troops, the resources. What you propose would be feasible with a larger army, but as it stands it's a suicide mission."

The jovial expression on Galactic Knight's face evaporated. He turned on Meta Knight, his blue eyes set in a piercing glare.

"You're just like Arthur", he began slowly. "He believed the same thing as you when I told him of the plan, that this is too much of a risk. But," he continued, his voice lowering to almost a whisper. "You know what poses an even greater threat to our cause? Our men dying out there day after day, falling against an army that replenishes itself in ways we can never do. We are slowly getting pushed back by Nightmare's unending supply of demon beasts. We are being overwhelmed by sheer numbers." He lowered his head so that his eyes may not be seen.

"It may not be the safest route but if we don't take initiative, we will die."

Meta Knight grew quiet, the air tense as he sensed his leader's disapproval. He could hear the urgency in the knight's words, and chose his own reply carefully. "I understand, sir. But rushing headlong into a battle that's lost to begin with will not change anything either. It will only hasten our demise. We need to be careful, to plan this out more and take a safer course…"

"No, Sir Meta Knight." Galactic Knight snarled, his tone becoming more dangerous as he went on."I have watched Arthur's forces slowly being pushed back as he tried to be safe for years. It is why we are losing this war, and you two and the other Star Warrior commanders are too blind to see it. Your passive wait-and-see approach will doom us all." He ran over to the door, quickly locking it with a turn of the wrist. He whirled around, his back facing the door as he glared at Meta Knight. "Arthur is not aware of this mission, and it must stay that way."

Meta Knight's eyes widened as he took a step back, his heart beginning to race.

"What are you doing?!" he cried. "You're going against Arthur's orders?! This is treason!"

A sharp lance was suddenly thrust between Meta Knight's mask visor. It stopped a mere inch from his flesh, the point resting right between his eyes.

He stared down the point of it while the voice of its wielder stated, "Is it still treason if it's doing the right thing? I thought I could trust you with this, Meta Knight…obviously not. You're too obsessed with following orders to realize that the fools are going to slowly kill themselves, and the rest of us, by following Arthur's lead."

He pushed the lance point further until it hit Meta Knight's body. He began to squirm as the sharp point pressed up against his vulnerable flesh. He wanted so badly to reach for his own sword, but one wrong move and Galactic Knight could easily kill him.

"Hear this, Knight. If you mention one word of this to Arthur or his subordinates I will kill you and list your demise as lost in action. Understand?!" he roared, jabbing the blade.

The lance responded to Galactic Knight's light touch, piercing through Meta Knight's skin easily. The knight cried in pain as the lance pierced him. Blood began to seep out of the wound, congealing around the red lance. Galactic Knight held it there, eyes glowing a fierce red. He seemed to enjoy watching his former friend suffer. Meta Knight was blinded by pain, the red blood seeping into his eyes as he grew weak. Sensing resistance, Galactic Knight pressed the lance further. It was not long before Meta Knight was forced to yield.

"Yes…Sir" he gasped.

Upon hearing that, Galactic Knight immediately withdrew his lance, Meta Knight's fresh dark blood glistening on the tapered point. Meta Knight groaned in pain, staggering as the winged veteran casually wiped the blood off his lance.

"I'm glad we reached an understanding", Galactic Knight said in a tone that was unmistakably smug. He unlocked the door to his office as if nothing had happened as Meta Knight watched him, eyes glowing red with impotent rage.

"You are dismissed", Galactic Knight said. "Goodnight."

Meta Knight tore his angry gaze away from the commander to dash towards the doorway, making his escape.

"And remember", Galactic Knight said, the casual tone of his voice betrayed by the mad glee in his eyes. "This is our little secret!"

Meta Knight turned to look at him silently for a few seconds, before closing the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Meta Knight staggered out of the office. The walk back to his barracks felt like an eternity. He trudged through the sand, his field of vision covered every few seconds from his own blood as the forehead wound bled. He figured it was painful, but shallow, and simply needed cleaning and bandaging. What truly weighed on him was the fact that the strike was inflicted from his former trusted leader, his confidant and friend.

"He must have gone mad from watching his subordinates dying after so many years", Meta Knight thought. "There's no sound reason why he would condemn his men to a death mission while accusing Arthur and the others of doing the same."

He paused to wipe the blood away from his eyes with a curse, staining his glove. He soon reached the barracks, using the cover of night to slink off to the washroom and clean his wound before anyone could take notice.  
He didn't sleep that night. His small, round form lie in his top bunk, maskless. He tossed and turned in his bed, both the pain of his wound and the burden of the upcoming mission weighing upon him.

"I must tell Arthur and the others before he initiates this!" he thought frantically. "But how? He will surely kill me if he knows I did. As top officer of this planet he is aware of all messages going out to head of command. Even if Arthur acts swiftly, by the time help arrives it would be too late for me…"

He turned facedown, groaning in pain as the pillow hit his bandaged, but still tender forehead.

"But if I don't say anything, we will easily lose half this planet's force in this if not more. How could he be so stupid! Does he really think this will all turn out okay? Or is this a rebellion on his part, a way of proving Arthur wrong somehow...and risking many lives in order to do so."

He lifted his head, chin resting on the pillow as he lay on his belly. He stared at the wall.

"What if Arthur doesn't believe me?" he wondered. "It does sound farfetched, and Galactic Knight up to now has been a great leader if not a bit impulsive. Galactic Knight could easily convince him that I'm lying, and since no one else knows about this it would be his word against mine. And Galactic Knight is a high commander, a veteran of many years."

He tried to force himself to stop the troubled thoughts, trying to relax enough to go to sleep. But the thoughts remained, turning around in his head as he tried to figure out how to stop the misguided commander from going through with the mission.

In time, the wall he was staring at began to turn a lighter shade of brown. He looked up slowly, vision fuzzy from exhaustion, to see out one of the barrack's tiny windows. The sky had turned a medium blue. It was dawn.

The next day was the one that soldiers were informed of their mission. The word was passed to officers from Galactic Knight himself that very morning, who in turn informed the foot soldiers. They twittered with excitement amongst themselves throughout the day, their normal tasks being diverted to preparing the equipment and strategy for the attack instead. Although they knew of the base and its significance, they had no idea the danger they were in and trusted in their commanders.

Sir Kibble stood amongst the other soldiers assigned to preparing munitions for battle. He checked over the weaponry carefully, dutifully writing down what assigned gear they needed more of. The cutter knight often removed his headblade to polish it almost obsessively, a habit he had a tendency to do when nervous. He turned to glance at a pile of shields to see Meta Knight silently watching the other soldiers organize them.

Sir Kibble waved a gloved hand to him, calling out "Hey, Sir Meta Knight! Check out all of this new gear. We're going to destroy them tomorrow!"

Upon seeing him, Meta Knight quickly turned his back on him. He didn't want to look Sir Kibble in the eye, didn't want to look at the young friend who was being sentenced to death by his own cowardice. He bit his bottom lip.

"Yes", he responded softly. I wish us all the best." He walked away.

Sir Kibble tilted his round body slightly in confusion as he watched the older knight go. He knew that Meta Knight was stoic even in the best of times, but that response felt cold even for him. After a moment, Sir Kibble shrugged before polishing his cutter blade again.

Meta Knight made it a point to avoid him as well as his other comrades the rest of the day, aside from the tasks in which he was forced to interact with others. He was assigned to be on aerial duty due to his piloting expertise. Meta Knight was one of the few soldiers assigned to do so; the majority would be on the ground.  
Because of Galactic Knight not wanting Arthur to catch wind of the mission or question why Rock Star had suddenly requested an unusual amount of supplies, the plan was implemented hastily. The very next day was to be the day of the attack on the Red Gorge.

The group of pilots reported to the outside of the base that morning. It was early, slowly turning into a day just like all the others in this wretched place – dry, quiet and incredibly hot. The aerial soldiers stood in a line, feet shifting uncomfortably under sands which were slowly growing hotter under the rising suns.  
The unit's flight commander was a Birdon whose blue, feathered chest was more covered in military ribbons than armor. He pointed to each soldier with a wing, assigning them their planes and barking orders.

Meta Knight boarded his jet slowly, reluctantly as he watched the others practically leaping into their seats. He looked at the fresh faces of the young pilots, eager to do their part for the army. For many, it was going to be their first flight mission.

If they only knew.

The planes the group was assigned to were the Galaxy Soldier Army's finest in small aircraft. They were developed for dogfights, and combined speed and agility with considerable power. They were all shaped something like an elongated star, with the front end tapering off into a sharp point and the two star points that made up the rear covering the plane's back engines. The star shape's two remaining points were swept back, elongated into the jet's wings. They were a pale yellow in color, the metal seeming to glitter in the desert sun.

Meta Knight took his seat in the single person aircraft. The opening hatch slid shut, covering his entrance and sealing him in. Strapping the jet helmet over his own mask, he began to push the button sequence in order to activate the machinery. A tiny screen above the controls glowed green as the engine hummed to life. Upon putting on the helmet he saw nothing but his plane, heard nothing but the dim roar of the engines and the staticy voice of the flight commander coming in by radio. All worries of the misguided mission were set aside as he focused on nothing but the controls in front of him.

At the word of his commander, he and the other Star Jets took off. One roared off after another, ascending sharply before branching off in their appointed directions. Even with all of the preparation and drills he had previously experienced under flight training, every time he took off it felt as new and exhilarating as his first time in the air. The G-force flung him against his seat, the immense roar of the engines drowning out everything around him. The controls blinked cautionary instructions as he was forced tight against his seat belt, feeling the familiar yet odd floating sensation of his stomach and other organs as he took off. He was surprised at how light the plane felt, how quickly and easily it turned. Galactic Knight had at least given the soldiers good equipment to work with.

In time, Meta Knight reached his desired altitude and set course for the Gorge. The ground underneath him flew by, a featureless mass of tan, red, tan. Now that the rush of the takeoff had passed, Meta Knight once again had time to think. He realized that this was most likely his last time experiencing the rush of takeoff, of seeing his friends on the ground. He was to die in battle.  
Although he had dwelled on death quite often as being a soldier put his life at risk often, he had never rushed headlong into it with time to contemplate his last moments and a knowledge that he was almost certainly not coming back. His eyes began to blur with tears, a rare sight for one who was usually so proud. He quickly shook the feeling off, taking heart as he veered left towards his destination.

"I am not going to die for Galactic Knight…not for him, and not for this foul mission", he thought. "I will for Arthur. For the army, the soldiers. For home…"

He was startled out of his morbid thoughts by a persistent noise as the plane began to emit a soft, steady beep. Meta Knight glanced at the plane's radar to see first one dot, then two, then an innumerable cluster. His heart sank. According to his directions, he was supposed to fly straight into this.

His radar began to beep faster as one of the dots began to mobilize. He guessed that his plane must have shown up on their radar at nearly the same time as they showed up on his.

"Ah," Meta Knight thought, "They've not-" before a violent blast shook his jet.

His body jerked forward to smash against the control panel, sparks flying inside the craft as the blast shook him. The double padding of the jet helmet and his own mask underneath protected him, and he quickly shook his head to regain his composure. The enemy had fired, but had merely clipped him. Immediately Meta Knight pulled as hard as he could on the jet controls, strafing out of the way of a series of follow up attacks.

He locked onto the enemy plane that was now following him, his gloved hand shaking as he pushed the trigger. A series of missiles were fired from his Star Jet, but Nightmare's aircraft easily dodged them. In his disoriented haste Meta Knight didn't lock on properly, and his attack fired into thin air. Meta Knight swung the plane around and tried again. Nightmare's jet seemed more interested in an all out offensive approach and charged straight towards him, guns blazing. Meta Knight made a wide left to dodge the attack before climbing higher in the air. The enemy was closing in the distance fast, and he needed to buy himself time. He hit the jet's thrusters and pushed the sleek plane for all it had, ascending into the hot desert air at maximum speed.

It worked. Though more powerful, Nightmare's planes just didn't have the speed of the Galaxy Soldier model. That maneuver bought Meta Knight a few precious seconds. He turned swiftly and locked on, steadily this time, and fired at the enemy jet.  
It was a direct hit. He saw an explosion erupt on the plane as his missiles hit, large chunks of the charred purple metal spinning off. The weakened aircraft began to lose pace of him and shot a final round of large explosives before turning on its side, falling out of the sky in a fiery wreck. Meta Knight's hands tightened on the controls, heart racing. He forced his plane into a steep dive to the left, aiming himself away from the missiles trajectory. He cheered to himself as he saw the missiles streak past his window one by one. As he resumed position, his eyes grew wide in horror as he noticed the missiles had changed course and were now following him.

In its final moments the enemy had fired his ultimate weapon – heat seeking missiles. Meta Knight's face paled as he realized his mistake. He was on the run, and the missiles were closing in. They were now too close to fire at without getting caught in the resulting blast himself. They were gaining, both aimed towards his back engines – he had seconds. At the last second, Meta Knight threw up his shields. A white electrical grid immediately raced across the surface of the Star Jet, causing it to glow with power. No sooner did he do that the two powerful missiles hit him one after another, detonating against the jet's shield. Immediately the shield was knocked from full power to barely functioning as the missile's impact took nearly all of its power to deflect the powerful blows. Meta Knight stared at the screen which displayed his jet's condition, dumbfounded, as the shield already began to flicker in and out weakly. Shields were supposed to last a pilot throughout a battle and were considered a last resort or lifeline, and he blew his own in mere seconds.

The beeping of his radar increased to a fevered pitch again as two more dots drew in. Deprived of shields and power, his battered jet had to face two more aircraft. The two sleek, indigo jets weaved towards him, one strafing to one side as the other began to head straight towards him. The first one fired at him while the second went farther and farther until disappeared from sight.  
Meta Knight began to sweat, eyes darting at the window and controls as he tried to see where the other jet had went. He fired in return at the first plane before realizing that the other enemy jet had dropped altitude and was coming up under him. He cursed to himself and tugged the controls, squeezing his eyes shut as he went into a controlled spin. His quick spin got him out of the way in time, narrowly dodging blasts from the jet underneath him.

He looked frantically at the two planes, unable to shoot back at them as he was forced to dodge more. He was being mobbed. He began to drop his altitude more and more, hoping that he could outmaneuver the jets until help arrived. The planes dropped also and followed him effortlessly, the only thing keeping them from completely overwhelming him was his Star Jet's amazing speed.  
He saw both of the jets' firing nozzles begin to glow red, the same red of the heat-seeking missiles that nearly destroyed him earlier. He was about to be hit with not two, but four of them at once. Meta Knight cursed silently, shooting blindly as they began to fire. There was no help in sight, and it would not be possible to dodge all of the heat-seekers – he knew all was lost. He made a silent prayer to the stars above as he mashed the doomed jet's eject button.

The window popped open immediately, his form being shot out into the blue sky seconds before the missiles hit his plane. The jet that he sat in moments before exploded. He felt the immense heat of the wreckage as he tumbled away from it. His small body went into a spin, plummeting towards the ground as flaming pieces of metal from his jet flew past him. He fumbled with his ejector seat belt, trying to make sense of the spinning world around him as he freed himself. The reddened soil was rushing towards him as he managed to get out of the seat. Immediately he focused on his dark cape, which was billowing out above him. He tried to right his tumbling body, spreading his small arms and feet to control his fall as the cape responded to his will.

Meta Knight felt the strange sensation of becoming one with the cape, the wind screaming around him as his cape tore apart into two large, batlike wings. He quickly spread them, angling himself as he tried to turn his freefall into a controlled dive. The ground came nearer and nearer until he was merely a few dozen feet from it. At the last second he managed to get out of a vertical drop, aligning himself almost horizontally for a few feet above the ground before he landed. Immediately his newly formed wings were crushed underneath his body as he made a rough landing. He skid and tumbled along the desert, the sand and soil skidding painfully against his jet helmet.

After he rolled against the ground for some time, his momentum finally wore out and he tumbled to a stop, a battered heap on the ground. Immensely dizzy, his first reaction to the experience was shock followed by pure joy. "I lived!" was the only thing he could think as he lay on the ground for a moment, panting heavily. His helm and armor was coated reddish-brown from the sand around him, his reformed cape covering him in a dirt-stained, crumpled heap. In the distance, he could hear the thud-thud of the doomed jet's remains plummeting to the ground.

He was not allowed to experience joy long, as he heard the screaming of jets overhead. He realized that he needed to quickly take cover before the enemy realized that their target did not die in the wreckage. Looking around, he spied an outcropping of rocks a few dozen feet away. Stumbling to his feet, Meta Knight quickly ran towards the rocks, his small form finding plenty of space to hide from prying eyes above underneath the outcropping. He threw off the battered jet helmet, pressing himself tight against the outcropping as he heard the screaming of jets overhead.

In time, the sounds tapered off to nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Meta Knight looked out into the desert from underneath his tiny shelter of rocks. It had been quiet for a long time – no noise of jets, of battle. He wondered how far his body had rolled after ejecting from the plane. He squeezed his glowing eyes shut, focusing hard as he tried to remember his last moments in the Star Jet. He wanted to remember his coordinates before falling out of the sky...but everything happened so fast, and he was so distracted by the missiles and dodging out of the way. His eyes slowly opened as he leaned against the rock, gazing out at the vast desert. His heart sank as he realized he had no idea where he was.

He fumbled with the star-shaped badge on his shoulder armor. Assigned to all Star Warriors, the badge was more than a mere indicator of rank and status. As he dislodged the badge from himself and flipped it over, he saw a tiny series of lights blinking underneath the strong magnet that held it in place with his armor. He flipped a switch, hearing a soft pinging noise. He smiled wearily, before reattaching his badge. He was able to send out a distress beacon through it, and it would periodically ping his position to any soldiers who were nearby.

"They'll soon find me", he thought, "If anyone lived..."

He shifted uncomfortably, mouth parting slightly as he began to pant. Sweat beaded on his brow as he peered out into the desert, searching with increased desperation for any sign of life. He dared not step out from under the rocks – the sun was high in the sky, and the heat would be even worse without the tiny bit of relief the rock's shade gave him. The air itself appeared to be seething, wavy distortions being caused by heat waves. The average temperature of Rock Star was so high that only a few species of soldiers could participate in the missions here. Meta Knight's own kind, being resilient and built for harsh conditions with their round and stocky bodies, made the cut. But there wasn't a soldier alive who could tolerate this kind of environment for long.

He was incredibly thirsty. His ship, of course, had plenty of provisions – provisions which had been destroyed in the blast. His heart began to pound in terror as he realized that he would be stuck for an unknown amount of time without any food, without a single drop of water. He weakly pounded the rock wall, cursing under his breath.

The day dragged on.

After debating with himself for a few moments, he began to remove his armor in an attempt to cool off. "I have no use of this", he thought as he sloughed off his armor, his shoulder pads and mask sticky from the sweat. He knew that covering himself was necessary when outside in the sun itself, but when protected by shade the bulky armor would only hinder him. He let one glove drop to the ground, then another. After being freed of everything but his shoes and cape, he carefully laid out his armor next to him and sat down with a sigh. He waited for the feeling of a slight breeze to cool his flushed face, and felt nothing. There was only dead air.

Meta Knight looked to his detached mask with slight amusement, citing this as the only time in his life he had ever felt taking off his mask to be a welcome feeling. He always felt more comfortable hidden behind it, and did not like to take his mask off under any circumstances – but out here, as the only soul alive for miles, what did he have to hide?

His stubby, round arm swept across his face in a vain attempt to remove the sweat. He wanted nothing more at that moment than water. He tried to lick his lips thoughtfully, swallowing his own saliva constantly as it temporarily relieved his feelings of extreme thirst.

In time, the suns began to set. The larger one went down first while the second, smaller sun remained in a low position in the sky, bathing the entire desert in a fiery red glow. Usually, Meta Knight found the sight beautiful, but today he could only look to it with dread. The battle had to have been long over by now, and there was still no sign of help in sight. With the setting of the suns, however, came the welcome feeling of cooler temperatures.

In time, night came. The nights here were not chilly as they were on other planets in arid environments. On this forsaken planet it was still very warm even at night, though it thankfully cooled off a few degrees at least. Meta Knight's eyes grew heavy – after such a taxing day, his poor body begged for sleep. He lay down, cuddling up against the rocks as he used his cape as a blanket. But he could not sleep, the pain from his thirst and hunger being too great. Although able to survive several days without water, like most other species, his kind processed food energy faster than others and therefore had a shorter window of time before starvation. Even if he somehow found water within the next few hours, he would still be doomed if he did not find food also. His two eyes, which without the mask glowed pure white, shined like flashlights in the darkness. He saw nothing but blackness all around him, and the stars up above.

He spent the night watching those stars flicker brightly, contemplating the fate of himself and others.  
"What happened today?" he thought. "I barely escaped with my life…perhaps to suffer a slower, more painful fate, but that is beside the point. Many others were probably not so lucky. Did what Arthur and I feared come to pass?" his eyes began to dim, turning a shade of gray as he felt sorrow overtake him.

"Is anyone left?"

He curled up into a fetal position, holding his stomach as the pains of hunger grew. He looked up through the haze of pain into the darkness around him, wishing badly that he could hunt the native creatures or follow them to a water source. But in this odd place, there was no life to be had. Even at night all he heard was the faint, repeated noises of several insects at random intervals late at night. If anything was alive (and surely there must be, Meta Knight reasoned, as life can flourish in nearly all conditions) then it must have all been underground.

The next day came, identical to the last, and what would be identical to the days to come. The two suns rose, one at a time but in close proximity to each other, and with their coming returned the intense heat. The din of insects died down as anything living skittered to their respective burrows, hiding from the heat.  
The day was not kind to him. He managed to doze in a semi-awake state for several hours, coming to when the heat made the sand under him too hot to comfortably lay down on anymore. He felt weaker as the day wore on, the strength leaving his limbs and body. He kept glancing at the shoulder pad lying on the ground beside him, at the tiny badge attached to it which was still pulsing out its distress signal. He wished with all his heart that someone, anyone, would take him in. In his growing desperation he even wished Nightmare's units would pick up on the signal, take him into custody and give him a mercifully swift death.

The lack of nutrition was beginning to affect the knight's figure. The healthy deep blue of his skin had begun to fade to a paler, more grayish shade. The faint pink rosiness on his cheeks had disappeared entirely. His white eyes, which usually glowed fiercely, began to dim out behind the lens as the fiery energy that the knight usually had was completely sapped.  
The day came, and went. He spent his time watching from underneath the shade of the rocks, scanning the sky and horizon with increased desperation as hours passed with still no sign of help. He debated leaving his armor outside of the outcropping in hopes that his location would be more visible from above, but realized that he was most likely deep in enemy territory still and that he didn't _want_ to be seen. He could only wait and pray that his distress calls would be answered.  
In time, night swept over the desert. He spent another sleepless night tossing, turning, stifling the cries of pain as his thirst and hunger grew. Waiting.

Dawn came. The blackness of night slowly turned into a lighter blue, then finally a deep orangey red as the suns began to rise. The large, brilliant orbs once again spread their rays onto the chilled sand to warm it up for another day – a day same as all the others. The eerie environment appeared to never change. No winds sculpted the sands and small dunes, no animals appeared to crawl across its surface. No clouds moved across the still blue sky, and of course no rain fell upon the ground. Every day was the same.

As time wore on, Meta Knight's body grew weak. Unable to support himself by standing any longer he sat on top of his cape, using it as a barrier from the hot sand. As the day continued, he began to feel more and more ill. His head began to pound from a headache, each heart beat pulsing more pain into his skull as he began to take on a fever. His increasingly-grey skin began to flush. Meta Knight lifted an arm cautiously to his face, feeling his forehead curiously – it was hot, burning hot, and curiously devoid of sweat.

His stomach turned, and he tasted the acid of bile in the back of his throat several times. The taste made him chuckle to himself, somehow finding mirth in his misery.

"If this makes me sick, what will I even have to vomit?" he mused. "It's not like my stomach has anything left inside of it."

He soon found out, as his stomach lurched again. He stepped out from under the shade of the outcropping, managing to get a few feet away from his shelter before becoming violently ill. He weakly stood over the mess he made, wiping his mouth. The nausea he felt was replaced by an acidic burning sensation in his insides, the contents of his stomach having been nothing but liquid bile. He staggered back towards the rocks, his arm reaching out to brace himself on the outcropping as soon as he could.

He was dying, slowly dying of hunger, thirst and exhaustion in the living hell of a desert, and thanks to that bastard Galactic Knight no one would ever be the wiser. If the commander even survived his own ill-fated mission.

He managed to make it halfway back into the shade before his feet gave out from under him. He collapsed into the hot sand. Responding to the pain the scorching sand caused his weakened form, Meta Knight managed to crawl into the shade. There, he remained for an untold amount of time. He crawled onto his cape, and in the growing heat of the desert day was able to take a short rest.

When he woke up, the first thing he was aware of was the incredible pain and weakness from fever. As he thought, he realized that memories of recent events – and indeed, the reason he was even here – had slipped from his mind as if it were sand through fingers. He managed to hold his body up, rounded arms quaking underneath him, as he looked at the vista spread out in front of him with increasing confusion. His dimmed white eyes squinted, his pained expression suddenly going blank.

"Why am I here?" he said aloud. "It's so hot. Stars above, it's horrible out here. At least I'm not sweating…what's that funny taste?"

He gibbered to himself in a mishmash of the common tongue of the Galaxy Soldier Army and the language of his own people, his sentences a barely coherent rambling train of thought. He was slipping into delirium.

His dim expression changed to one of delight as he saw a tiny lump over the dunes, far into the distance. In his fevered state, he mistook one of the endless dunes in the distance as shelter. What was a formless lump just like all the others, to him, was the familiar silhouette of the Rock Star base. He managed to stagger to his feet, his body finding a newfound strength at the perceived sight of shelter. He aimlessly wandered out into the sun without his protective mask or anything else besides shoes.

"Base is there! Good. I mustn't tell Arthur, mustn't tell… " He continued talking to himself as he staggered out into the sand.

Back at the rocks, the distress beacon on his shoulder armor continued to ping.

As he kept walking, the dune became more recognizable as a mere lump of sand like all the others. The delirium caused Meta Knight to soon lose focus, his goal fleeting from his mind as the beating sun took its toll on him further.

"So damned hot... wait…my mask?" he felt his face frantically, arms shaking as he pawed at the space where his mask should be. "I need it. Need mask, can't go back without my mask, they will see."

He changed course, wandering further away from the rocks and off into a random direction as his train of thought devolved into gibberish.  
He soon became aware of nothing else but his own heart beat. To his fevered amusement, he noticed it was very irregular. He seemed to enjoy the sounds within himself, the shallow clipped breathing, the way his heart would slow down, speed up, slow down again. He was beyond pain and nearly all consciousness, his head floating as he wandered out into the red mass of desert. His vision had become so clouded he could barely see, and he could feel little besides the unrelenting heat beating down upon him. Unable to pick his feet up far enough in the deepening sand, he stumbled, swaying for balance as he tried to trudge on.  
Forced out into the blazing suns, delirious and starved, his fevered body finally gave out. He collapsed.

A few moments later, a dot appeared in the skies above. The dot grew larger and larger as it neared the ground, a high pitched whooshing sound accompanying it. As the dot neared, it became more recognizable as the distant form of a large jet. The large aircraft was triangular in shape, silvery-blue in color. It stirred up a terrific amount of sand and dust as it landed a few meters away from the outcropping of rocks.

A door on the jet's side swung open. Medical soldiers poured from the door as Arthur himself stepped out behind them. His plane landed close to the outcropping, where the distress beacon had come from.

"Who is this?" He asked softly, lavender eyes glowing softly behind the commander's radiant golden armor. He gasped at the sight of the tiny gray-blue form laying half buried in the sand.

"By the Stars above, is that Meta Knight?! Get him inside, quickly, quickly!"

The medics quickly strapped Meta Knight's fragile body to a stretcher, carrying his armor behind him. They rolled him indoors and elevated his feet, laying his unconscious body flat on his back. He was rushed into the transport ship's small medical bay, where several other injured soldiers from the same mission lay, recently found and bandaged as they suffered from their own injuries. The medics immediately applied ice packs to Meta Knight's fevered head, sponging off the rest of him with a damp sponge in an attempt to cool him off without throwing his unstable body temperature off too much. Supplements were given to him intravenously. Arthur watched the medical flurry happening over Meta Knight's bed nervously as the transport plane took off.

"Eheheheh…I like this story!"

Meta Knight's yellow eyes popped open, their distant look fading as he abruptly returned to the present. He wasn't gazing into the calm eyes of King Arthur, or the endless vista of the desert - just the dim walls of the cellar in which he and the other castle residents were housed.  
Everyone gave King Dedede a glare as it was his loud, raucous voice that had interrupted Meta Knight's storytelling. The king glanced around the room, his expression smug and obviously uncaring of the annoyance he caused. As always he was glad to be the center of attention, positive or negative. The king laughed heartily as he looked down at the blue knight.

"Wow, Sir Meta Knight. When you open your mouth you actually have some cool stuff to say! I'm impressed. But your story is missing one thing…popcorn! I demand popcorn!" he crowed, banging the head of the Waddle Dee that had been serving as his armrest.

Escargon wringed his hands nervously as he tried to calm the spoiled king.

"Your Majesty, please remember that we are not in a position to get you any popcorn at the moment. Everything is all out there, where that _thing _is banging away at our castle!"

Dedede regarded him with arms folded, a dissatisfied expression on his face.

"So?" he sniffed. "If those two", he said, pointing to Sword and Blade, "could go get all of us, they could go back out there and get some popcorn too."

Sword lowered his head in exasperation, while Blade turned to give Meta Knight a pleading gaze.

Fumu, who had been enthralled by Meta Knight's tale, snapped out of it in a fit of anger as she turned on the king.

"You want to send your own guards to go out there into a dangerous battlefield, risking their lives, for some _popcorn_?!"

Meta Knight watched the spectacle silently, leaning back in his chair. His growing amusement was mostly hidden underneath the mask, though his eyes began to tinge a faint pink. To his surprise, he didn't mind being interrupted at all – the memory of darker times was something he'd rather not dredge up, and only through circumstances as dire as informing the others of this creature gave him any good reason to. He enjoyed the brief reprieve from such haunting memories, even if it came in the form of King Dedede's childlike demands.

"Sire, I promise that when this is all sorted out you will have your popcorn. Mountains of it! But for now, please, be patient" Escargon begged.

"I must agree with Escargon, sir" Parm interjected. "Please be reasonable!"

As the king opened his fat beak to reply, a dull boom from above shook the cellar slightly. The furniture was lightly shaken as dust was knocked off the shelves and books, rising up in a cloud and causing some to cough.

Dedede, humbled by the threat, simply sneered "Whatever."

Fumu clasped her hands together as she looked up at Meta Knight. "Please, sir, don't mind the interruption. Could you continue with your story?"

"Yeah, please?" Bun pleaded.

The others began to murmur and nod in agreement, looking to the Star Warrior. Meta Knight rolled his shoulders in response, clearing his throat. "Very well", he said softly, the audience falling quiet upon the sound of his voice. He continued to relay his story in his manner of speaking – brief, deliberate.

"Wake up…"

Meta Knight stirred. The voice was not one he recognized, a higher pitch than most of the soldiers he knew. It had to belong to a woman.

"Sir Meta Knight, please wake up." The voice piped again, soft and cheery.

It was then as his senses slowly returned that he recognized that the voice was accompanied by a smell – a warm, pleasant smell that made his mouth water. His bleary eyes slowly opened, gazing upwards. He looked this way and that, confused at the cool blue interior of his surroundings, until his gaze rested on the source of the voice. A young nurse with a somewhat humanoid form like that of Garlude, red skinned and clad in white, held out a tray to him. On the tray was a plate of food and water. At the sight of the things he had longed for for so long Meta Knight sat up immediately, eyes wide. She giggled at his reaction and placed the food down on his lap, handing him a fork and knife.

"You were in pretty bad shape when we picked you up," she said as he hurriedly began to eat. "Enjoy!"

Meta Knight was usually a delicate and polite eater, but in the face of starvation all of that was thrown out the window. He closed his eyes in pleasure as he took the first glorious bite of food. It was typical ship rations, bland and tasteless, but in his deprived state it tasted like heaven. He paused after eating only to gulp down some water. The feeling of liquid finally reaching his parched throat felt even better than the first bite of food he had in days. Although his condition was far better than he was when first found thanks to the care and injections, he had still not been able to eat or drink until now and his body still cried for it.

"Thank you…nurse?" he said between bites, catching her before she left the medical bay.

"Mm?" She turned around to face him, head tilted curiously. "Can I get you anything else, Sir?" She asked.

"No, no.." he replied, setting the fork down for a second. "I don't remember much… but, how long did I…"

"Minutes" She said flatly.

Meta Knight weakly gripped the edges of his food tray as that set in. If he had been out there just a few minutes more, he would've died of either exposure or thirst. He wasn't sure which, and after hearing what she said he didn't want to know. He shook his head, picking up his fork again with a blue arm slightly shaky from nerves. What ifs were irrelevant. What mattered was that he lived.

The nurse put on a smile as he ate silently. "But you are doing much better now. I think you'll be fine! Oh, and King Arthur wishes to speak with you. Shall I send him in?"

Meta Knight drank more water, downing the glass before dabbing his mouth with a napkin. "Yes, nurse, but in a moment… have you seen my mask?"


	6. Chapter 6

Meta Knight turned in his bed, facing the door of the medical bay as it slid open.

The nurse had obeyed his request, retrieving his gear before going to fetch Sir Arthur. She disappeared through the door of the bay, soon returning with a bundle of armor in hand. Upon her arrival he quickly suited up again, reattaching his disc-shaped mask first before his gloves, cape, sword and shoulder pads. Although fed and given water, it was not until he was once again able to don his mask that he truly felt better.

He looked out from the inside of it, twitching visibly whenever the sliding door of the ship's medical bay opened. For a while now it had simply been nurses bustling about as they tended to the needs of other, injured soldiers. But he couldn't look away. He wanted to be ready for Arthur's presence.

As the door slid open once again, Meta Knight's yellow eyes snapped to the door's entranceway once again – but he was not greeted to the usual sight of doctors and nurses. Standing in the rounded doorway was a green-skinned Knight not unlike Meta Knight himself. He was clad in golden armor topped with a dark green plume, a white cape flowing out from behind him. From deep within the golden helm shone eyes that glowed a cool lavender. Meta Knight immediately shifted in his bed to an upright position, giving a salute. For the knight that silently regarded him was none other than the leader of the entire Galaxy Soldier Army.

"Sir Arthur", he said respectfully.

"Sir Meta Knight", Arthur replied as he stepped forward, "It is good to see that you are doing better." The golden knight walked over to the wounded soldier's bedside, eyeing him.

"I see that I'm not the only one who had been rescued today." Meta Knight said as he glanced around the room at the other soldiers – some faring better than him, but many were not. Arthur followed his gaze, looking out at the bay. Laying amongst the beds were a variety of injured soldiers, some with missing limbs, many rendered immobile. His eyes began to dim grey as he realized that it was filled to capacity with the injured.

Meta Knight watched his graying eyes, before speaking to him softly. "How many survivors?"

"Few." Arthur replied bitterly. His gloves balled up into fists as he turned to Meta Knight. "And you were the only surviving pilot. We lost so many people… all good men and women." He looked away.  
After a few tense moments, Arthur spoke in a voice filled with rage. "And it was all Galactic Knight's doing."

Meta Knight was about to reply, "I know", before stopping himself. He realized what he was going to say and played dumb, replying in a questioning voice "This mission was not given to us by you, sir?"

"I would never" Arthur said, enunciating each syllable angrily. Meta Knight's eyes began to glow green as he watched his leader. In all his years, he had never seen Arthur radiate anything other than detached confidence.  
"Galactic Knight did this without me knowing. As commander of Rock Star, he had access to supplies, the authority to give those under him the go-ahead…" Arthur stopped, realizing that in his rant he was saying too much.

"Is he in custody?" Meta Knight asked, keeping an air of feigned innocence. He did not have to ask about Galactic Knight's fate – he knew that he was to be tried as a traitor.  
"Not yet", Arthur replied. "But when he is, he will be under trial for treason and banished from the Galaxy Soldier Army. Perhaps even executed".

Meta Knight sighed, grip loosening on the white sheets as he looked up at his commander. "A well deserved fate for him, Sir. It's a shame that Rock Star is lost."

"No" Arthur said quickly, eyes flashing as he looked at the bedridden soldier. "Although we have suffered losses there, Rock Star is most certainly not lost. We will reinstate a commander there, one that can be trusted. He will reorganize our troops, and from there, we will continue to monitor Nightmare's activity. And execute attacks", Arthur continued, "in a far less reckless manner."

"Oh?" Meta Knight asked. Considering the losses the Red Gorge mission caused, and how spread the Army's forces were as is, he thought that the planet would have to be completely abandoned to Nightmare. "And who will be our new commander, sir?"

Arthur looked to Meta Knight as he smiled for the first time, his expression hidden underneath the mask. "Sir Nonsurat."

Meta Knight's eyes flashed in surprise as he clutched the sheets tight. Sir Nonsurat?! He was one of the three Knights directly underneath Arthur himself in power, and were considered high commanders in charge of multiple operations as well as Arthur's personal war advisors. For him to instate one of them as a commander of a single planet was shocking.

Meta Knight gaped at Arthur, his shock only revealed by the white glow of his eyes. "But Sir Nonsurat is a high commander! If I may ask, Sir, why would he be stationed on a speck of dirt such as Rock Star?"

Arthur simply shook his head at the words 'speck of dirt'. He chapped Meta Knight's shoulder gently, gloved hand slipping away as he turned his back to the blue Knight. "It's more important than you think, soldier" he said. As he turned his back to Meta Knight, he stated, "You will be given a few days of medical leave. When you are able to return to duty, you will once again be stationed at Rock Star. Sir Nonsurat will be your commander, and the first priority of your unit will be to find Galactic Knight." He then began to walk away, looking to check on the other injured soldiers.

"Yes, sir." Meta Knight said after a pause, saluting the golden knight weakly as Arthur walked off.

Meta Knight took the few short days given to him to rest and heal. In the case of many other species there would've been permanent damage caused by the ordeal he had gone through, such as liver problems or brain damage. However, due to the remarkable resilience of his species he suffered nothing permanent and, in time, was able to make a full recovery. The ship dropped Meta Knight off at a new base in Rock Star after his condition had stabilized, and he and any other soldiers that were able to fight were soon returned to the planet in order to do battle.  
The barracks, the offices of the old site, all had been destroyed by Nightmare's army. The enemy had captured several soldiers and found the site of the Rock Star base through interrogation and torture. Upon finding the empty base, the enemy picked its contents clean for intelligence and scrap before promptly destroying it.  
Arthur, determined to gain control of Rock Star, picked another site a good distance away from the original. There he began construction of a new military base, building a new hold while erecting a series of temporary tents in the meantime to house the soldiers. The new site was a far cry from the set of buildings that comprised the old – this was a mere group of tents, hastily assembled and scattered across the desert.

It was in one of these new tents that Meta Knight lay in, several weeks after the failed mission. The silence of the bleak landscape outside was offset by the whirr of a single fan. The blue knight lay in his newly issued bed, flat, uncomfortable, surrounded by equipment as well as various charts and graphs. The brown, canvas walls of the cramped tent bothered him – even though there was some room, it felt confining. He lay there, eyes glowing green in deep thought as he stared at the tapered ceiling.

Today, he had the "pleasure" of meeting Sir Nonsurat.

Earlier that day, Meta Knight and the other soldiers stood outside in a line. The group consisted of a mixture of Red Gorge survivors who were able to fight and recruits from elsewhere. They stood under the hot suns, plated feet shifting under the hot sands. All of the soldiers, who had recently been relocated to this new site, were quickly ushered outside of their new lodgings in order to meet the new commander of the Rock Star battalion.

Standing before the soldiers stood a figure fully clad in silvery armor, round and stout. The armor's front, which appeared similar to Meta Knight's mask, had a strange clawlike decoration along its circumference. From deep within the armor glowed yellow eyes, unwavering, fierce. In his gloved hand stood a battleaxe that towered over him. The axe was beautifully decorated along the hilt and edge, adorned with a star design similar to the badges all the Galaxy Soldier members wore. Draped behind him was a cloak tinted a brilliant scarlet, and he appeared to only have one shoulder pad. This was one of the three Knights that served as Arthur's generals and advisors - Sir Nonsurat.  
Meta Knight gazed at the Star Warrior. In a few seconds, Sir Nonsurat returned his gaze, his yellow glowing glare meeting his. The two locked eyes for a few tense seconds. In time, Meta Knight shifted under his glare, averting his eyes.

Nonsurat's eyes gaze slowly traveled along all the soldiers lined up in front of him. He cleared his throat before announcing in a deep bass voice "Listen up. My name is Sir Nonsurat, and I am the new commander of our operations here on Rock Star."  
He began to walk along the length of the line, fixing his yellow glare on each soldier as he stalked past. "I", he began slowly, "demand respect. I demand efficiency. Unlike that treacherous dog Galactic Knight, my orders come from Sir Arthur and Sir Arthur alo- no slouching!" he barked, swiftly moving the edge of his axe to hold it at the throat of one particular soldier. The sloucher, a young Sword Knight clad in violet armor, quickly straightened up as he held his head high in an attempt to avoid the blade. Seeing the quivering Knight comply Nonsurat slowly withdrew his axe from the Sword Knight, making a growling noise deep in his throat as he turned to the others.

"You're a sorry lot", he muttered as he looked them over with eyes that had turned burning red in anger. "I see Galactic Knight left me a lot of work to do. It figures. If he couldn't even organize a mission correctly, how could he possibly be assed to teach you all some manners… I'd hate to see how you fight."  
He jabbed the pole end of his axe into the ground for emphasis.  
"We shall begin my regimen tomorrow. Report back here in this same spot, at 6am sharp." With that, the commander waved them off with a gloved hand.  
"You are dismissed."

The soldiers filed out quietly, returning to their tents. Too afraid of being overheard to speak, many said nothing but simply exchanged nervous looks. Meta Knight walked away after most of the others had already left, nestled in his cape. He couldn't help but wonder if Galactic Knight, for all of his grandiose claims and paranoid delusions, had been the more stable leader of Rock Star.

**Arthur's note:  
If the names mentioned above seem unfamiliar- Sir Nonsurat, Sir Falspar, and Sir Dragato are three knights that in the show also survived the GSA. They were featured as toys in the TV episode when MK himself was made into one. Sir Arthur is the leader of the Galaxy Soldier Army. I took some liberties with their personalities here, as we never really got to see what they were like in HnK.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: **Thanks for all of the positive reviews and continued crit! I went back and updated some more grammatical and formatting errors, including a couple of shorthand notes that somehow made it into Chapter 3...whoops :B

**CHAPTER 7**

Day turned to night as the fiery suns of Rock Star, as always, set one behind the other. They bathed the harsh land in a sea of red for a brief time before fading away, replaced by the growing dark of night. The searing heat passed, bringing temporary relief to all the soldiers in their miserable little tents.

Meta Knight glanced out from between the flaps of his own tent, watching the suns set with fascination as well as a newfound respect for the fierce desert. It was the end of his first day back on the planet after recovering from the failed mission at the Red Gorge. Although he would never admit it to even his closest friends, his near death experience had left him deeply afraid of being out there alone. Just picturing himself stranded in the desert again, defenseless and weak with thirst as fever slowly overtook him, caused the knight to make the faintest shudder and wrap himself deep in his cloak.

In time, night had come. The sky began to turn a deep blue, fading to black, as the faintest sounds of several insects began to call out in the darkness. The lonely moon began to shine, bathing the vast expanse of bare sand in a deep silvery blue. When it became too dark to see far ahead of him Meta Knight retreated back into the dirty brown tent, his deep blue cape billowing out behind him as he disappeared between the tent's two folds.  
Inside, Meta Knight lit the only light he had – a white candle set upon a cardboard box. The tiny flame flickered, casting shadows along the taut canvas walls of the tent that appeared and disappeared. Meta Knight sat on his bed before reaching over, the thin bedding creaking underneath his light weight as he grabbed a book off the 'table'. With a grunt he eased back into a relaxed position, cracking the thick book open as he began to read.

Reading was one of Meta Knight's pastimes before the war. Whether for the pursuit of knowledge, deep reflection, or pure, mindless entertainment, he was an avid reader who enjoyed many different styles and genres. He flipped a page as he sat up in bed, yellow eyes trained on the pages in front of him as he read eagerly. This was the first time he had a chance to in ages – and, if Nonsurat's "regimen" starting tomorrow was any indication, the last time he would have the time and energy to for a very long time.

The hours passed by as the blue knight read, holed up and comfortable in his little tent. In time, Meta Knight's eyes began to dim out from the mask as his lids grew heavy. His gloved hands soon began to loosen their grip on the book, letting it fall over and slide off his round body. He snuggled up in his thin blanket, barely managing to loosen the fastenings on his mask for comfort before falling asleep.

As the night wore on his candle began to fade, dimming out as the flame became more and more spent. Meta Knight didn't notice the fading glow of his candlelight, or anything else – he was sound asleep, nestled in his blanket. Soon the tent was barely lit, the only light from the room coming from a dim reddish halo around the weakly flickering candle.

A thin shadow slowly cast itself onto the tent from outside. Something gripped the edges of the tent's folds and, each movement incredibly slow as to not make the slightest sound, began to pry the folds open. The cast shadow grew as a faded silhouette took shape behind the tent's cloth doorway. After a few tense minutes of quietly moving the tent flaps out of the way, the figure was finally able to slip in. The round figure stood inside, nearly invisible except for the dim glow of the candlelight which gave him a silhouette. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness as they looked over to Meta Knight's bed. Slowly, carefully, the shadowed form made his way over to him.

He watched every step, the soft sand underneath him not betraying his presence like the creaking floor of a truly enclosed area would. The loose sand, in fact, aided him, cushioning each foot and rendering his steps silent. Meta Knight laid in his bed, eyes dimmed out behind the mask as he slept on his side. He was faced away from the intruder, wrapped up in his cape and blanket.  
The figure stood at Meta Knight's bedside for a moment, heart pounding at the thought of what he was about to do. His eyes began to change into a rich crimson as he raised his lance over the sleeping knight.

As he moved the lance back and forth in the air to aim for the center of his desired attack, Meta Knight's body twitched. His eyes began to open, dim amber at first but slowly brightening as he awoke. Meta Knight had always been a light sleeper. Ever alert, the slightest sounds or even scents could render him awake from even a deep sleep. Meta Knight laid in the dark, eyes open wide.

Something was wrong.

He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but the odd feeling couldn't be shaken. With mind still cloudy from being awoken, he began to roll over to see what the disturbance was.

Meanwhile, the red-eyed figure had locked onto Meta Knight's most vulnerable spot in his current position – dead center on his back. Though concealed behind a cape it was one of the few parts of his body that was unprotected, and one quick stab of the lance could sever the flexible, cartilage equivalent of his specie's spinal cord. It would instantly kill him. The intruder aimed; and with one quick decisive motion, he stabbed.

Meta Knight was in the process of rolling over as the intruder did so, which caused the jab to miss his back entirely. Instead, it hit the tip of his shoulder armor with a clang. Meta Knight felt the pressure of the impact and responded with a surprised yell, immediately sitting up and jumping off the other side of the bed. The attacker, who put all his strength into that one blow, was thrown off balance when it collided with metal. He swung his lance around aimlessly for a couple of seconds, cursing.

Meta Knight grabbed his own sword from the floor on the opposite side of the bed. Long before the blue Star Warrior ascended in the ranks and went on the mission to recover the sacred sword Galaxia, he wielded a silver rapier. He picked the thin sword up before turning on the would-be assassin. Even in the darkness, he recognized the silhouetted form as the general who betrayed not only his own friendship, but the entire Galaxy Soldier Army and Arthur himself.

"Galactic Knight!"

The attacker seemed to twitch in surprise at hearing his name before folding his wings tight against his body, beginning to charge towards Meta Knight. He knocked over the cardboard table, the candle falling to the ground and blinking out as it rolled away. The two combatants were bathed in darkness, the only light being a faint sliver of blue moonlight peeking in at the warriors through the partially opened folds of Meta Knight's tent.

Galactic Knight charged, lance aimed dead center at his rival. At the last second Meta Knight jumped to the right, barely missing his blow before whirling to face him. Galactic Knight recovered from his charge and immediately brought up his shield in defense. The Star Warrior's round buckler was white, with a magenta cross design shaped much like that of his mask. Meta Knight immediately swung, but his rapier was deflected by the shield. Galactic Knight growled as he pushed forward with shield out, rushing Meta Knight.

Meta Knight saw what was coming and held his sword horizontally in a parrying position. Shield met sword as Galactic Knight crashed into him. Though the shield was far stronger, Meta Knight didn't budge and held the rapier against his shield for a few seconds. Galactic Knight pushed forward with all his strength, causing the younger knight to be pushed back. Meta Knight's violet sabatons dug deep furrows in the sand as he tried to stand his ground against the veteran. Suddenly, the pressure on his sword was lightened; and before Meta Knight had a chance to react he was struck with a shield bash.

Meta Knight took the blow to the head and stepped back a pace, disoriented from the blunt attack. Seeing the soldier dazed, Galactic Knight seized his chance. Withdrawing his shield he struck forward with his lance in a series of rapid piercing blows. The fast strikes seemed to be coming from the left, right, and from all directions. Overwhelmed, Meta Knight weakly attempted to parry the other warrior's blows for several attempts before he missed one. The lance met flesh, wedging itself under Meta Knight's spaulder and driving itself deep into his skin.

Meta Knight cried out in pain, the hand holding his sword weakening immediately as blood began to leak from the fresh shoulder wound onto his glove. He looked up at Galactic Knight for a second, holding his arm as his eyes glowed a deep crimson. Galactic Knight threw back his body and laughed heartily.

"Pathetic." He said. "These are the skills of one aspiring to be a general?"

The wounded warrior stared up at him as he clutched his arm, eyes burning with hatred.

"If your expertise is any indi-"

His speech was interrupted as Meta Knight delivered a spinning kick to the face. His mask was knocked off center as he tumbled backwards, grunting as he fell over. Meta Knight quickly jumped while Galactic Knight's mask affected his vision, landing behind the knight as he jabbed forward with his sword. Galactic Knight felt the slow push of the piercing blade go through his flesh before being showered in feathers and blood as Meta Knight impaled his wing.

Galactic Knight's eyes grew wide, immediately flashing white as he became temporarily paralyzed in shock and pain. His hidden mouth hung open, gaping. With a sickening squelch Meta Knight withdrew his blade, ready to deliver the killing blow.

Galactic Knight got his senses together in time, barely managing to dodge the fatal plunge that would've gone through the center of his cross-shaped mask. He stood with shield ready, swaying slightly as blood poured out of his wing. Meta Knight grinned; he could see that he had delivered a powerful blow.

Suddenly, Galactic Knight's eyes flashed before they began to glow a fiery orange. Meta Knight was taken aback, feeling the sudden power radiating from the wounded veteran. Unnoticed by both of them the nearby fallen candle's flame suddenly came to life, as if lit by a spark. Galactic Knight shouted a war cry, and his sword suddenly became enveloped in white-hot flames. Meta Knight stepped back in fear and awe as his rival unleashed his full power.

Again Galactic Knight made a series of jabs, this time far faster and more accurate. Meta Knight suffered multiple blows, the lance connecting in many light stabs on his arms and side. The pain of the lance was multiplied by the horrible burning of the flames, as if he was being stabbed by a hot poker. He managed to parry several attacks before weakening under the relentless barrage. He fell back with a whimper.

Galactic Knight held his flaming lance high, the fiery tip narrowly missing the cloth walls of the tent. He brought it swiftly down on Meta Knight's head. Meta Knight managed to bring up his own rapier in response, barely blocking the blow. Unwilling to get into a standoff again Galactic Knight immediately spun around, his movement being far faster than before. His flaming lance jabbed, an attack so fast it appeared as a white blur in the dark tent. His lance met only thin air; Meta Knight had managed to duck. As Galactic Knight noticed the warrior below him he adjusted his horizontal strikes into a vertical one, aiming the sharp polearm downwards at his target. His blow only connected with Meta Knight's cape. The blue material somehow repelled the flames, the eerie glowing fire swirling around the pink lance but never catching on the cape itself. However, the point had driven through the cape and managed to pin Meta Knight with it.

The trapped Meta Knight spun around, flattening his round, elastic body as much as possible before delivering a piercing stab to Galactic Knight's flank. He managed to catch him in the small area of exposed flesh between mask and feet, around where the leg would be on other species. His sword pierced the veteran's dark pink skin. The knight reeled in pain, kicking out in an instinctive defense. Meta Knight held onto his sword with both fists as he got kicked, driving his weapon deep and upwards to form a deep gash on Galactic Knight's flank. Blood spilled out from the wound and onto Galactic Knight's white sabatons. His grip loosened on his lance just enough for Meta Knight to squirm out from under it, ripping his cape slightly in the process.

The two injured combatants faced each other, breathing heavily. Meta Knight held his bleeding arm while Galactic Knight bled from the side, one of his wings drooping and twitching slightly like that of a wounded bird. Meta Knight could see from his eyes that he had a slight edge – the fiery glow of Galactic Knight's eyes had faded into a reddish grey of pain and anger, and the flames began to die out on his sword. The older knight had spent his last burst of power, and was growing weaker as the wounds took their toll.

Meta Knight grinned under his mask. Though too was weak from his own injuries to ensure a win, he would rather die trying than let the scum have another chance to harm him or his allies.

He charged towards Galactic Knight, who put up his shield in defense as he folded his one good wing tight against him in preparation. What he was not prepared for was Meta Knight jumping into the air as he gained momentum, his cape unfurling into batlike wings of his own as he held his sword out in front of him. His body went into a rapid, drill like spin as he collided with the weakened ex-general.

The momentum of his blow knocked them both out of the damaged tent. If the attack had landed on any skin it would've surely killed him, but it connected with Galactic Knight's mask. The white-winged knight landed roughly on the sand outside of the tent, blood pouring from his wounds. Fear overtook him, and he turned to get away. He scrambled to his feet and managed to run, leaving a trail of blood and feathers in his wake.

Seeing him escape fueled a rage in Meta Knight like no other. His eyes began to glow fiery red as his batlike wings spread to catch air. His outspread wings, which had spent what energy was left from the cape's weakened owner, morphed back into a cape within the blink of an eye before draping over the form of the wounded knight. He began to run after Galactic Knight instead. He chased the winged dot in the moonlight, watching the form grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared from view entirely.

Meta Knight stopped running after losing sight of him, feet planted in the sand as he quaked with anger.

"Coward!" he roared into the darkness. "Come back and fight, you filthy coward!"

He felt, strangely enough, a feeling of defeat- he had won the battle, but the rogue knight had gotten away.

He looked around frantically – the tents nearby were all silent. None of the other soldiers seemed to have been awakened by the noise, as the tent's positions were scattered a good distance from each other. Meta Knight limped back to his tent, fumbling around in the darkness with his one good arm until he found what he was looking for; a tiny, radio-like device used for communication between the army. Once a fixture on his cardboard table along with his book and candle, it had been knocked off during the fight. He hit several buttons on the small device before holding it up to his mask.

"This is Sir Meta Knight requesting assistance at Tent 1-03-6. Galactic Knight has been spotted. I repeat, please send assistance to Tent 1-03-6!" He paused, listening for a reply, and heard nothing. He sighed, setting the radio on his bed before turning away to find his first aid kit.

Meta Knight rummaged in the dark, the blood from his injured arm getting all over his tent as he tried to find his first aid kit. The small, white box had a cross symbol ironically similar to that of Galactic Knight's shield and mask.

The pain from his other injuries began to take its toll as the adrenaline from battle wore off. The light stabs inflicted on his body still burned from the unholy fire of Galactic Knight's blows, and loss of blood from the deeper shoulder wound made him feel dizzy. He was in a lot of pain, but steeled himself; he knew that within the first aid kit laid bandages and salve. As Meta Knight dug for the kit, he heard a young male voice reply from the radio. "Galactic Knight is there?! Assistance is on its way, Sir!"

Meta Knight looked up at the noise, smiling weakly.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8 **

Meta Knight felt around in the darkness, feebly groping with his one good arm for a first aid kit. As he peered at the clutter, a glint of pale blue suddenly caught his eye. He looked up to see the white corner of the first aid kit shining faintly in the moonlight. A pained grin formed on the wounded knights' face at the discovery. He pried the sealed case open with his good hand, no small feat as he was so used to his using his now-mangled right side. Inside the kit was a small bottle of salve, gauze, cotton balls and other medical supplies. Meta Knight scooped up his candle as he took the supplies over to his bed, setting the kit down as he lit the candle in order to see what he was doing.

Meta Knight removed his right spaulder in order to examine his injury. He felt a light sting as the covered part of the wound hit fresh air. He tilted his round body to one side, looking to his right as much as possible in order to see the damage. At the sight of it, his face paled. The wound was a large puncture though he couldn't see the extent of the damage in the dim light. It appeared to hit high up on his shoulder, entering from the upper arm and piercing flesh as it jabbed upwards. It went in deep, but thankfully did not impale his limb. He knew that despite the wound appearing as a mere puncture, most of the real damage was hidden inside. He guessed it didn't hit anything vital or he surely would've bled out by now.  
He got lucky.

Meta Knight quickly unwound the gauze from the first aid kit, hand shaking as he wrapped it around himself in an effort to control the bleeding. He hissed in pain as the fabric stretched over his fresh injury, the white gauze quickly becoming stained deep red with blood.  
Up to now the pain had been manageable, but as time wore on it began to hit him hard. It shot through his aching arm and onto his entire body in excruciating waves, becoming worse as the minutes passed. He felt dizzy and a little nauseous – whether it was from the pain or loss of blood, he was unsure. The other, lighter injuries inflicted on his other arm and sides by Galactic Knight's flaming lance felt as if they were still burning. He steeled himself, eyes beginning to cloud over in pain as he feebly laid back in bed. Even the featherlight touch of a pillow on his arm made him cry out, a red blotch growing on his sheets under the wound as it bled through his light gauze bandage.

Meta Knight laid in bed, half conscious and wracked with pain, when he suddenly heard a commotion on the outside of his tent. He tried to sit up, clouded eyes peering at the opened flaps of his tent as his left hand weakly pawed at his rapier. He was in no condition to fight, but if Galactic Knight returned he would rather die trying than lay there and be slaughtered.

A familiar voice caught his attention, deep and boisterous. "Sir Meta Knight! It is I, Nonsurat. May I come in?"

Meta Knight eased back into a relaxed position, thanking the stars.

"Yes…sir", he replied.

Sir Nonsurat stepped into the tent, axe in hand and eyes glowing with excitement. He was flanked by several of his loyal Ax knights. The Ax Knights wore armor shaped like a skull, topped with a spiked, horned helmet. Within the eye sockets hid glowing red eyes. These were soldiers who, like Nonsurat himself, had forsaken the balance of a sword for the pure, brutal killing power of the axe. Meta Knight eyed the two warily; although he preferred a sword, he could not deny that an axe-wielding warrior on the battlefield was a terrifying sight.

"Greetings, Sir Meta Knight", Nonsurat said as he looked around the tent. "Ax Knights!" he barked, turning around to face his entourage. "Stand guard outside."

"Yes, sir!" The two replied in unison, saluting their commander before leaving the tent.

Sir Nonsurat watched them go before turning to face the bedridden warrior. He paused, squinting in the dim light as his glowing eyes darted over the knight's bloodied form.

He grimaced at the sight. "You look like Hell."

His yellow eyes began to travel around the room as he spoke. "And so does this tent – I see you two had quite a fight in here. Where is he?"

"Gone…" Meta Knight replied weakly, his left hand pointing out towards the south. "I last saw him heading that way…south."

"You don't say?" Nonsurat asked, intrigued. With a sweep of his hand he swiped up Meta Knight's radio. He yelled into it, "Attention all soldiers! Report to the main base in 30 minutes. Galactic Knight has been spotted!"

He set the radio down gently before walking away, leaning outside of the tent's opening while Meta Knight watched him curiously.

"NURSE! Get to it. " he called out. Moments later, a young medic pushed the tent's flaps aside, running in to stand at Meta Knight's bedside.

"Didn't think I came without help, did you?" Sir Nonsurat asked as he turned towards Meta Knight with a hidden smirk.

The nurse was as round as the two star warriors and white skinned, with pale pink blushes on her cheeks. She was clad in a white garment, gloves, and pale pink shoes. The nurse rushed over to Meta Knight with supplies in hand. She eyed the somewhat bandaged wound with a frown.

"Is it bad?" Nonsurat asked, his deep voice spoken low as he leaned over her with eyes flickering gray for a second. Meta Knight couldn't help but stare at his commander in surprise at the rare show of compassion.

"He'll live." The nurse replied grimly as she looked him over.

Meta Knight wanted to say "I'm fine", but his mouth could only create a tiny whimper as he loosened his grip on the blanket and allowed the nurse access to his wounds. She quickly removed the mask and armor of the knight before applying strong pressure to the still-bleeding wound.

"Good." Nonsurat said, straightening up as his eyes faded to a neutral yellow again. The moment had passed as quickly as it had come.

"Now," the commander began, "I must be going to lead the soldiers in a hunt for Galactic Knight. He couldnt've gone far, and now's the time to nab the bastard once and for all. But before I do…" he said, his voice taking on a smug tone, "Tell me. Galactic Knight is a seasoned warrior with decades of experience over you. How did you manage to survive?"

Meta Knight, despite the incredible pain, felt the beginnings of a weak chuckle inside him. The commander appeared to be covering up his brief show of emotion with a haughty comment. Always the tough guy.

"We fought… I won. Managed to get him good. His wing and side", Meta Knight responded.

"I see. That means our little fairy won't be flying away, then." Nonsurat said, his yellow eyes glowing brightly as he turned around.

"Get some rest today, soldier. You did well – we'll hunt him down and finish him off for you."

He wrapped his scarlet cape around himself, walking out of the tent. As he did he barked, "Ax Knights! You will remain stationed here today. Protect Meta Knight at all cost."

"Yes, sir!" they shouted, standing up straight as they saluted their superior.

Nonsurat gave the two a curt nod before walking back to his own base.  
As he mulled over the damage Galactic Knight had done – the loss of many men, the attempted assassination of one of his most trusted soldiers, and worst of all, the betrayal of Arthur's command, his rage grew and grew. "If I have my way, traitor, your death will be as slow and painful as possible." He snarled under his breath, eyes as red as his cape as he walked off.

The medic, meanwhile, had stopped applying pressure after the wound had finally ceased to bleed. She was relieved to see that Galactic Knight's attack had not hit any major arteries or cartilage, and began to remove Meta Knight's gauze to disinfect and re-bandage the wound. He struggled not to yell in front of the nurse as she also applied the stinging solution to the lighter injuries on his other arm and sides, engulfing his body in searing pain each time. The girl was efficient – it was not long before all wounds were fully cleaned and dressed. When finished, she smiled at her work and saluted Meta Knight respectfully.

"You are all done, sir. I'm going to leave you for a bit so you can relax. I'll check back up on you later in the day. Have a good rest! "

Meta Knight swallowed his pride, a slight blush beginning to creep onto his blue cheeks as he wearily eyed the nurse. Although grateful for the help he found the entire ordeal terribly embarrassing, having appeared as a weakling to the two. Even worse, he had been de-masked.

"Thanks." He said softly before cocooning himself in the blanket.

The nurse bowed politely in response, taking her leave.

He sighed as he leaned his head back, closing his eyes. The pain and burning of his wounds slowly passed, the pain killers and salve taking effect as his agony changed into a strange but welcome numbness.

Outside, the suns had begun to rise as usual. It was quiet both inside and outside the tent, the cries of nighttime insects fading into the eerie silence of day. The nurse had cleaned up most of the bloody aftermath of the struggle as well as taking care of the knight himself.

It almost looked as if nothing had ever happened.

---

Galactic Knight ran. He ran and ran, bleeding from his side and drooping wing. Fear and adrenaline kept him going for a good distance, the pain from his gaping wounds hardly stopping him. In his terror, he barely even felt them. Behind him charged Meta Knight, running after him as he shouted his name. Speed had always been one of Galactic Knight's strongest attributes, and in time, he outdistanced him. He was finally able to slow down after having lost sight of Meta Knight, feeling ready to collapse from pain and exhaustion. He changed direction as his pace slowed, heading for cover in a specific place. Before his attack, the ex-commander had planned his routes of entrance and escape very carefully. He knew where to hide.

He ducked between some rocks a distance away from the base, within sight but far enough to give him time for a short rest. He was sure that the army had been alerted by then, and that the entire battalion may be looking for him now. He squeezed his eyes shut, cursing as he faced the distance where his own base lay.

He managed to avoid being caught by parking his ship deep within a gulch, hiding it in a cavernous area under a strange rock formation some distance away. It was invisible from the air and very difficult to see from the ground – a perfect hiding spot for someone who could fly to reach it. His ship, like all others, had enough food and water provisions to last a long time, and because he had fled his own mission very early into the battle, it remained intact.  
His original plan was to attack Meta Knight, then Nonsurat. After the two were killed he was going to fly off the planet with his ship and become a fugitive. Being a GSA issued Star Jet, it would most likely avoid detection long enough for him to escape unnoticed.

However, in his current condition he couldn't access his ship. His wing was far too wounded to fly, and the steep climb down was too dangerous to attempt with the side wound hampering him. There was no escape.

He crouched behind the rocks, wing leaking blood as he frantically tried to figure out what to do. The loss of blood from his wing was immense, and he had spent all his energy in sprinting away from the base. He needed medical aid, fast, and could not journey out into the night desert much longer without risking passing out. He couldn't access his ship without the ability to fly or at least climb, and he did not have long before the Galaxy Star Army's forces found him. Even if he managed to last into daytime and avoid getting caught by the Army, exposure from the harsh climate would make short work of him in his current condition.

Galactic Knight's eyes glowed white, fists shaking as fear overtook him like a trapped animal.

_'Heh heh…a pathetic sight. Arthur will have you soon.'_

He reeled at the voice, shutting his eyes. "The voices again!" he cried aloud. "Now, not now. Shut up!"

_'You cannot silence me.'_

"Shut up!" Galactic Knight shot back. He felt the mental intrusion manifest inside of him, a foreign presence that nestled deep within his mind. He tried to block out the voices that echoed within him as he had so many times before, always in vain. Galactic Knight put his hands on his earholes, shaking his head defiantly.

He had been tormented by the voices inside his head for months now.

_'__The Galaxy Soldier Army will kill you. Nonsurat will have you slowly tortured first, perhaps cutting you up piece by piece with that barbaric axe of his. He relishes in suffering_.'

"No…please stop. Why won't you leave me be, you never stop…" Galactic Knight whimpered, his already fragile mental state breaking further.

_'__Meta Knight will receive a promotion for fighting you. Perhaps he will even take your old position. You will have accomplished nothing with your life, and you will suffer a painful death from the desert and your own festering wounds if not found and hacked to pieces by Nonsurat first.'_

Galactic Knight's eyes began to glisten with tears. "Please, leave me be…if I must die, let it be in peace."

The voice grew quiet. Galactic Knight, forced into self reflection by the voiceless words, began to weep in despair.

_'__There is a way out_.'

"A way out? Of this?" Galactic Knight asked. His eyes shot open as he cautiously removed his hands from his head, looking around in a more curious way. "How?"

He heard an eerie laugh in response. The laugh grew and grew, the voice coming first from within him and then growing until it seemed to echo from all sides, drowning out everything else. The sand near Galactic Knight's feet began to swirl in a slow, steady rotation. Galactic Knight watched it, gripping his lance tight as he held his shield out defensively. The sand swirled faster, before it began to rise in the air in a whirling column like a dust devil.

Galactic Knight's jaw dropped as a bright, glimmering ball suddenly appeared, rising quickly from the swirling sands. Its presence greatly disturbed him, but at the same time it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen. It was colored a deep blue, fading to a gentle pink towards the bottom. Stars of varying sizes slowly rotated within the semi-transparent ball's surface. It looked like a tiny universe within itself. Galactic Knight dropped his weapons, quaking in fear as he gaped at the sight.

"Stars Above…" he uttered. "This must be Death. It has come."

_'Do not be afraid, Galactic Knight_.', the voice within him said as the large ball floated in front of him._ 'I have been watching you for a long time now.'_

"W…watching?" Galactic Knight asked.

_'Yes.'_

Galactic Knight's eyes grew wide as he stared at the ball. Suddenly he scrambled back, nearly landing on his injured wing in shock.

"Wait…the watching, the voices. Those voices weren't me, they were you! You..you're Nightmare!"

_'Correct…'_ the voice said, the ball seeming to glow brighter upon hearing its name.

_'I have not been watching you without a reason, Galactic Knight. You are a special warrior, one who sees the Truth. The Galaxy Soldier Army will fall due to its own corrupt leadership.'_

The glittering ball gently bobbed in the air, casting an eerie pinkish light onto Galactic Knight's masked face. He shook his head disbelievingly at the words emanating within and all around him.

_'I can take you away from all of this. I can make you rise again…give you powers you have never even fathomed. You will grow strong, and with my aid you can take revenge on Meta Knight and the Army for what they have done to you.'_

Galactic Knight watched Nightmare silently, eyes trained on the ball of indescribable matter in front of him.

"And if I refuse?" The knight said, his voice quavering but bold.

_'Then I will leave.'_, Nightmare replied simply._ 'But not before this.._.'

Suddenly, the ball began to turn pitch black. Galactic Knight reached for his lance and shield, but it was too late. He trembled under the might of Nightmare as dark energies suddenly enveloped him.

The knight screamed as the energies swept over him. They seeped into every crevice, piercing through his entire body, into his breath, his innards. He awaited death to come…then blinked in surprise, as the black vapors began to dissipate around him after a few seconds. To his surprise, he felt better than before rather than worse. He felt his wing curiously – it was completely healed. In shock he numbly felt his side, and found it the same. He was now uninjured.

_'You are now free to make your escape, Knight, if that is what you wish.',_ the voice said.

_'But that is just a small sample of what I could do to you. I could enhance your swordsmanship with my powers; put an army of demon beasts under your command. I could give you wealth, protection_.'

Galactic Knight was still in awe at having been miraculously healed. He touched his wing over and over, as if it were all a ruse and would return to a bloody wreck at any second. He couldn't believe what was happening. He fluffed his wings, tentatively stretching the injured one to see if it could fly.

"This is amazing." Galactic Knight managed to say. "I…thank you, but-"

The two were interrupted as they heard shouting in the distance, coming from the direction of the base. It was many voices muddled together, the sounds of a growing mob.

_'The choice is yours, Galactic Knight_.' Nightmare said, the voice fading as the ball began to rise up in the sky.

Galactic Knight watched the ball ascend into the night sky. It suddenly blinked out of existence, the swirling tornado of sand around it collapsing over the knight's head.

"Wait!" Galactic Knight shouted as he watched the ball disappear, raising up his arm to the sky. He pulled it back in surprise and confusion, doubting himself as he looked at the empty night air. He tilted his body upwards, staring at the skies above. Was he hallucinating?He watched the sky for a few moments, dimly aware that the shouting in the distance was growing closer.

Suddenly the disembodied voice spoke again, sounding as if it were now behind him.

_'It seems as if you wish to consider my offer_.'

Galactic Knight paused, his chaotic thoughts leaving him at a loss for words. He knew in his heart that Sir Arthur was wrong, and that the Army had to be stopped, but wasn't sure about how to do it. Perhaps now, he finally had the way. He ignored the rising doubt within himself at what he was about to do, the disgust with his own thoughts that turned his stomach. He had to struggle to form the words he wanted to say, shutting his eyes as he spoke.

"I do."

----

**Author's Note: **I didn't want to use italics to show Nightmare's unspoken dialogue but it wouldn't let me use greater than/less than signs Animorphs style. :( I guess that's FF's way of filtering out the dreaded leetspeak. Oh well. Next chapter coming soon!


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

"Wait… so that means that all this time, Galactic Knight was a Demon Beast!" a young voice piped up.

Everyone seemed to jump in surprise at the different voice, turning to see who it was. Feeling the eyes of the audience boring into him Bun slowly sank into his chair, instantly feeling guilty about his outburst. Meta Knight glanced at the small boy with unwavering yellow eyes as he was interrupted yet again.

Seeing the knight remain silent, Fumu nervously interjected, "Sorry, Sir. He didn't mean to interrupt, please keep going."

"It's alright…" Meta Knight replied, his voice kept level in order to hide his annoyance.

"Bun," the warrior explained, "Galactic Knight was not a Demon Beast. A Demon Beast, by definition, is a being created by Nightmare in order to either serve his will or be sold for a profit under the Holy Nightmare Corporation. Though natural creatures can be corrupted into Demon Beasts through his powerful magic, it takes an exceptionally weak mind in order for that to happen - which was certainly not the case with Galactic Knight. Galactic Knight simply became an agent working under Nightmare's army, a mercenary of sorts."

"Ooh, I see." Bun said, head tilted in a puzzled way that indicated he clearly did not.

"What I'd like to know is why this guy kept screwing up", King Dedede said with a frown. "For a high ranking member of the Solar System Soldiers or whatever, he doesn't seem very bright."

"It appears Galactic Knight and His Majesty have something in common, then." Escargon muttered, rolling his eyes.

"WHAT did you just say?!" Dedede barked, standing up as he lifted his star-emblazoned hammer.

Escargon cowered in his chair at the sight, holding his hands up defensively as he stammered out an excuse for the thinly veiled insult.

"What I meant, Your Majesty, is that you two are equally determined to reach your goals! Please, don't hurt me!"

Meta Knight wrapped himself in his cape as he watched the two. He imagined that it would be easier to tell a complete story to an audience of screaming children than King Dedede – not that there would be much of a difference between the two. Escargon feeding his king's fiery temper with derogatory remarks didn't help much, either.  
Fumu, not wanting to have this rare glimpse of Meta Knight's past devolve into a violent bout between Dedede and Escargon, tried to smooth things over by changing the subject into one of discussion.

"I have to agree with you, King Dedede", Fumu began. "It does seem strange that Galactic Knight would do something like that after being a champion of the Galaxy Soldier Army for so many years. Why do you suppose he did it?"

Bun squirmed in his chair. Though usually well behaved the story left him exhilarated, and he was unable to keep from chattering excitedly in response.

"It's obvious, Sis. Nightmare had been sending evil voices into his head for months before the desert thing happened. He just got corrupted by Nightmare over time!"

"I have to disagree" Fumu replied, idly twirling her hair with a finger as she thought.

"Galactic Knight was ambitious and impulsive, and his motivations seemed to be based on power alone. I bet that he didn't mean for the Red Gorge mission to fail. He was probably so cocksure about his own abilities that the failure of the mission and loss of power devastated him as much as it did Arthur. I think he took it within himself to decide the direction of the planet's forces as part of one big, possibly delusional, power trip. Wanting more power is also the same reason he resented Arthur, and why he chose Nightmare over becoming a fugitive."

She sat back with arms folded, a grin on her face as she looked to Meta Knight for approval of her story. Meta Knight remained silent, glancing at her for a second before returning his gaze to Bun and the others. The rest of the seated audience began to whisper to themselves.

"You're both wrong!" Escargon snipped.

Upon hearing him everyone stopped to listen, Dedede lowering his hammer slowly as his interest in what the snail had to say overrode his urge to flatten him. Escargon leaned on one arm, elbow propped on the chair's armrest as he glanced at the group.

"Plainly", he drawled, "This guy is pure evil even without Nightmare's help. He did it all as an elaborate plot to undermine and destroy his own army. It's obvious. He 'accidentally' wiped out his own forces, fled, then came back with plans to assassinate the higher officials. He didn't like Arthur either, and I bet that after joining Nightmare's forces that's who he went after next."

What started as faint whispers amongst the audience grew louder as each one began to argue the other's viewpoint. Parm and Memu argued over which of their children was right while Bun tried to get his own words in, and Dedede and Escargon were shouting at each other as if they were almost glad to have something new to argue about. Sword and Blade had begun to add to the noise before a swift glare from Meta Knight quieted them, but even his meanest looks couldn't put an end to the strange language of the chattering Waddle Dees. Fumu's green eyes widened as she put a hand to her mouth, regretting what she had done as her discussion had turned into the cellar into a debate room. Meta Knight watched the group, eyes beginning to darken.

Suddenly, the knight threw his cape aside as he interrupted the group in a raised voice.  
"If all of you would actually let me _finish _my story, then perhaps you would know enough to draw a more solid conclusion!"

The cellar became silent as a tomb.

___

Galactic Knight looked behind him to see that the glittering ball had appeared again, the innocent looking façade concealing the great evil of Nightmare within. The ball seemed to glow brightly at the knight's reluctant response. Galactic Knight could feel the orb radiating a wicked glee as he heard the eerie, disembodied laughter surround him again.

'_Very well,'_ the voice said. _'You are to come with me.'_

The cosmic translucence that made up the sphere's surface rippled like a bed sheet, distorting before it parted straight down the middle as if someone had sliced it open with a giant knife. The ball had split in two.  
Galactic Knight's eyes widened as he watched the ball, too enthralled to realize that the sky around him had begun to fade to darkness. Within the split orb, a pitch black hole appeared. It sucked in everything around it, slowly at first, then with an increasing force. The whirling vortex of sand that accompanied the ball immediately disappeared within, and even the sand on the ground began to get dragged into the pit.

Galactic Knight stood his ground, stabbing his lance into the dirt to steady himself as his sabatons dug deep furrows into the sand. He watched vast amounts of sand and rocks go flying by him to disappear into the hole, outspread wings being tugged painfully as he tried to remain in place.

'_Come…'_

The hole grew, and all at once the incredible force swept Galactic Knight off his feet. He spun into the blackness, losing grip of his shield as he did so. His scream was quickly swallowed up into nothingness as he disappeared. All at once, the hole rapidly flattened in place before blinking out of existence.

The two were gone.

Shortly after, Sir Nonsurat marched in front of the procession of soldiers he had assembled.

The entire base had quickly filed out upon hearing his summons, lining up neatly in front of his base. Nonsurat quickly dispatched a search team, choosing who he considered both the most intelligent and most brutal soldiers of Rock Star. Sir Nonsurat himself led the group south, as that was the direction Meta Knight had indicated when he had talked to him. They left from the starting point a few paces away from Meta Knight's tent, as the fleeing ex-commander had left them a slight trail of feathers and blood to follow.

Sir Kibble walked amongst the group, resisting the urge to polish his cutter blade after Nonsurat nearly tore his head off for performing that obsessive habit in front of him. Being the fidget that he was he had taken to shifting from one foot to the other almost uncontrollably when standing still instead, but the urge was easy to ignore when he was moving.

He remembered Nonsurat's orders clearly: "If we find him, we catch him. If he eludes capture, we kill him."

Sir Nonsurat and the others had not walked far before they came across the rocks that Galactic Knight had hid under after making his escape. Dawn had come in the meantime, the morning suns casting their first rays on the red desert as the party searched the outskirts of their base. The daytime heat had not become oppressive yet, but Nonsurat knew it wouldn't be long before walking around in the desert would become a very dangerous task. They didn't have much time.  
As they wandered by the patch of rocks, the group halted immediately at Nonsurat's command. The soldiers turned to see why they were stopped and gaped at the scene before them, their eyes squinting in the red morning light as they tried to make sense of what they saw.

What they found was a very strange sight – a smattering of blood and feathers on the rocks from Galactic Knight's wounds, a slight swirling formation on the ground formed where the ball appeared, and upturned sand and debris all pulling sharply in one direction from the hole that Nightmare had generated.

"What the hell happened here…?" Nonsurat asked himself aloud as he looked around, confused.

"I don't understand", a violet Sword Knight muttered as he stepped forward. He kneeled, gloved hand tracing the diagonal pull of the deep sand.  
"Wind on this region of Rock Star is extremely rare, and there's no indication that we had any for the past few days."

"Perhaps it was formed by some animal?" another soldier asked.

The other warriors began to file out around the Sword Knight, carefully examining the stone and sand for clues. Sir Nonsurat stood in place, eyes following the indentations of the sand and blood as he tried desperately to find a pattern. He and the others had no idea what to make of it.

"The trail of blood seems to stop here, sir." Sir Kibble reported after carefully checking the area around the site.

Nonsurat growled, fist clenching around his axe as he thought about what could have happened. There was obviously some sort of struggle, but the only thing the strange disturbances of sand pointed to was that of a large animal. The swirling formation followed by the diagonal dragging seemed to suggest that something large came out from underground and took him away. He knew that creatures of some sort existed in the desert, though he and the others had ever seen one.

"Something must've ate him," he stated simply.

"That's possible, Sir" the Sword Knight replied as he looked up, "But that doesn't explain the disappearance of his mask and armor."

Nonsurat's eyes glowed green in thought.

"That's true," he mused. "Our armor is made out of high quality stuff. I highly doubt anything around here would be able to digest it, especially his lance. If it could, then it would've had to have been something really, really big…"

The veteran's eyes scrutinized the diagonal path of sand, following it back and forth as he continued.

"But this place is so damned hostile. No weather, no water for miles, no wind. There just aren't enough nutrients! I can't imagine anything surviving here that's bigger than a bug."

"If I may, Sir…" Sir Kibble interjected. "Remember that this is a far cry from home. Or anyone else's homes here, for that matter," he added politely as his hand swept towards their group, which was made up of many different species.

"The rules that apply to our planets most likely do not apply here. Perhaps life has found a way. Maybe there are creatures twenty times longer than us burrowing through the sands right now. There hasn't been a conclusive study conducted on Rock Star's flora and fauna yet - we just don't know!"

"You've got a point." Nonsurat muttered. The thought of his revenge being foiled by a hungry predator that was attracted to the scent of blood made him very angry, but he was somewhat pacified by this being fairly solid evidence that Galactic Knight was, in fact, dead.

"Everyone", the commander stated in a voice loud enough to carry throughout the search party, "It appears that our friend here has met a gruesome end at the hands of the planet itself. The clues here point to a large predator finishing him off."

"However," he continued, his voice taking on a stern edge as he noticed his soldiers begin to relax a bit, "We cannot rule out that is exactly what happened just yet. We all know that our armor is nearly indigestible. We should see if whatever ate him had left behind his mask, his lance, anything."

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers shouted. The group began to slowly branch out from the site at the rocks, eyes trained to the ground as they looked for evidence.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Galactic Knight floated in blackness until suddenly being thrust into the air again, tumbling to the ground with a surprised yelp. He landed headfirst onto a metal floor, the hard surface clacking violently against his mask and smashing him in the face. He laid on the cool floor for a few seconds, stunned and disoriented. His blue eyes opened slowly, blinked shut, opened again. As soon as he came to his senses Galactic Knight got on his feet and held his lance out, looking around in a panic. It appeared at first as if he was surrounded by darkness, but as his glowing eyes began to adjust to the dim light, he could see that he was actually standing in a large room. The area's walls and floor were cool to the touch, appearing to be made out of some strange dark metal. The interior was circular in shape, its domed ceiling held up by six pillars of indigo marble. The only light was a single chandelier that hung from the middle of the dome. Its design was jagged, angular, made of an alien architecture he didn't recognize. The fixture's light cast tall shadows on everything around him.

At first, Galactic Knight appeared to be alone. But as he became more aware of his surroundings he noticed the translucent ball had also joined him, fading slowly into view. The blue-pink orb radiated a soft light in the darkened space, looking more like another decorative furnishing of this alien landscape than a sentient being. Galactic Knight's feathered wings flattened against him, chills going up his spine as he stared at the now-familiar orb. He knew that he was now completely at Nightmare's mercy. It did not take the fallen Star Warrior long to realize that it was that orb that had brought him here through some sort of teleportation. Though the circular area they occupied appeared empty he could hear the shouts, growls and yelps of Demon Beasts echoing from numerous unseen chambers beyond the room. He realized that with one word, Nightmare could easily have him killed.

'Welcome', the eerie voice said.

At the sound Galactic Knight snapped to attention, looking up at Nightmare as he spoke. He didn't reply; so shocked and fearful was he that he didn't trust himself to say anything appropriate in response. '

'You do still want to join me, yes?', the floating orb questioned.

Galactic Knight nodded in reply.

At the sight of his response, Nightmare began to transform. Galactic Knight heard the faint click-click of all nearby doors bolting shut first. He looked around wildly as the orb darkened to pitch black, radiating the same strange dark vapors that had enveloped him before. All at once, the sphere morphed; Nightmare transformed into his true form. Galactic Knight was transfixed as a strange head, long and crooked, emerged from the mass of black that the floating ball had become. The ethereal black mass stretched as the head emerged, growing bigger and bigger. Two long, lanky arms that ended in claw-like hands erupted from the swirling void. The spacey translucence that made up the sphere's outer shell swept back from the body, hanging limply as it turned into a cloak. Nightmare stood, towering over the smaller knight in the form of a man. His lower body receded into darkness that constantly swirled in a vortex, giving him an appearance that was at once ethereal and ghastly. His hideous head was crowned in a helmet topped with two curved, golden horns. Galactic Knight tilted his round body upwards as he stared at the evil being, feeling himself begin to quake in fear and awe. Nightmare looked down at him, flashing the warrior a fanged grin.

"It is good that you have chosen to join me…"

Though his words were no longer voiceless and now came from his twisted mouth, Galactic Knight still heard each word echo inside and all around him as if he was being spoken to by a god. Galactic Knight bowed his head respectfully, kneeling down in front of the dark force as he tried to mask his rapidly growing fear with a show of respect.

"It is true, Nightmare. I hereby wish to serve you."

Nightmare glared at him, the glasses sliding down his crooked nose to reveal his eyes. To Galactic Knight's horror, he had none- the sockets were filled with the same blackness as the rest of his body, black vapors whisping out of his empty sockets from time to time. "You do realize", the being continued, "that as a former commander of the Galaxy Soldier Army you have put quite a dent on my past operations. I should kill you in a public torture followed by execution held for all my beasts and generals, in order to demonstrate to them what happens to those who dare defy me."

Galactic Knight remained silent as he looked up at Nightmare. Though his reaction was hidden behind his mask, the blue eyes paling out in color betrayed his emotion. He replied carefully, unable to keep the nervous tremble out of his voice.

"But...but surely, you have a better use for me?"

The ethereal being grinned. 'Indeed, I do...'

The Star Warrior was swept off his feet by a sudden, powerful force of air being channeled upward. He instinctively began to flap his wings in response, flailing his arms uselessly for a second as he adjusted to the sensation. The channeled air billowed outwards from the vortex of Nightmare himself, tugging at the lower edges of his cloak and revealing nothing but blackness within. Galactic Knight rose in the air before settling into a hovering position as the wind died down, leaving him level with the phantom's face. Nightmare reached into the depths of his shimmering cloak, twisted grin never leaving his visage. Galactic Knight kept a wary eye on this seemingly omnipotent being; even though he no longer had much of a choice in the matter, he still didn't trust him. Slowly, the violet sleeve emerged from between the folds of the cloak, revealing what appeared to be a piece of ethereal parchment. The semisolid, vaporous paper gave off an eerie glow. The sheet itself was of average size compared to Nightmare himself, but to the far smaller Star Warrior it was large enough to be a quilt.

"Here is a contract dictating the conditions of your...service", the monster began with a voice so falsely sweet that it chilled Galactic Knight moreso than his neutral tone. "This document states that you will hereby sever all ties with the Galaxy Star Army, and work for me as an officer." Nightmare grinned. "Under the Holy Nightmare Corporation you will be granted full protection from Arthur's army of fools, given battalions of Demon Beasts to command, and most importantly-" Nightmare paused, his eyeholes beginning to spark white as he continued, "You will be granted powers beyond compare!"

Galactic Knight tensed, eying the large, glowing parchment in front of him. "Powers?" he mused aloud.

"Yes", Nightmare purred. "I will bestow upon you the same powers all of my generals receive. It will elevate you to a whole new level of combat. Those soft-skinned knights would have no chance!"

Galactic Knight's eyes glowed a deep green in thought. He had simply thought that Nightmare would take him under his wing, and did not expect to be given powers on top of it. This all sounded to good to be true, and the offer left him extremely suspicious. He wondered if the 'power' was actually a powerful magic that would wipe his will, perhaps even turn him into a de facto Demon Beast. Nightmare had given him a lot to mull over, and only a short amount of time to do it in.

"Of course", Nightmare continued, "There is a catch. Think of it as...a little insurance policy. After all," his tone growing patronizing, "I cannot elevate my little Star Warrior to new heights only to have him run back to Arthur, mmm?"

Galactic Knight's eyes flashed from green to red in the span of a second. "I would NEVER return to him".

Nightmare merely chuckled in response.  
"While I trust your word, Galactic Knight, I will not do such a thing without a bit of assurance that you will always stay under my command. And so," he said, "With the blessing of power also comes this condition; should you betray me, should you lay a single hand on myself or other soldiers in the Holy Nightmare Corporation, you will immediately lose ALL of your powers. Including", Nightmare added with a devilish grin, "the ones you had in the first place."

"...All of them?" Galactic Knight asked numbly. He pictured what he would even be like and the mere thought made his heart sink. He imagined lifting his lance and being barely able to jab with it, having no more strength or dexterity in him than back in his civilian days. He would be defenseless; and if this was the condition of his service rather than being killed outright, then perhaps if he chose to disobey than Nightmare had planned a fate for him worse than death.

Nightmare responded to Galactic Knight's obvious hesitation, one clawed finger pointing to the script in the contract.

"This is bound by a magical spell, and so would not be a 'bait and switch' to steal your powers. This would only happen if you were to betray me and fight once again in the name of the Galaxy Star Army." The being gave a ghoulish grin. "Do you really think that if I did not want you to live, or if I wanted to simply absorb your powers, I would not have done so by now?"

The knight's eyes paled in response. He kept his concealed face as neutral as possible, but knew deep inside that he was right. Entire armies could not stand against Nightmare alone. He'd have no chance.

"But I do not want to destroy you, Galactic Knight. I want to empower you. With your knowledge of the inner workings of the Galaxy Star Army as well as your battling prowess, you would indeed make a fine soldier. It is why I want you to join me."

Galactic Knight remained silent. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as memories came rushing back to him.  
A lump formed in his throat as he remembered back to when he was first recruited. A plucky young boy, awkward but eager, stood lined up with other recruits of his kind with blue eyes shining. He put his hand upon the book of the Stars, and swore the oath; that he would forever serve the Galaxy Star Army, and always fight to kill anything that would harm the well being of the universe. It was then that he was first suited up in the very same mask he wore to this day. He then remembered moving through the ranks, proving through the years that he was both a skilled tactician and powerful fighter. He remembered commanding others under him, then being promoted and assigned to Rock Star. He thought of his grand plan, how everything went horribly wrong at the Red Gorge...and then he remembered Meta Knight, his old friend, the one he trusted with all of his ideas. The one who had betrayed him the most.

He blinked away the tears.

"I accept."

"Splendid!" Nightmare said, chuckling to himself as Galactic Knight signed the paper with the odd, ghostly pen that had been floating beside it.

Immediately upon signing, the contract evaporated into nothingness. With that, Nightmare began to move his crooked hand over the smaller figure in front of him. His hand began to glow red as he began to chant, saying words in a strange, clipped tongue that Galactic Knight did not recognize. He felt a tension in the air grow, a similar feeling to when one is in the vincity of a thunder storm. He felt on edge, and steeled his nerve as he forced himself to remain still and not attempt to bolt. Suddenly, Nightmare thrust his hand towards Galactic Knight. A bolt of pure energy shot from his hand, quick as lightning. There was no time to react.

It hit him.

Galactic Knight screamed; his wings spread out as his entire body twitched uncontrollably, spasming as the energy engulfed him. The feeling was indescribable, so intense that he felt unable to do anything. But as the initial blast subsided, he was able to return to his senses and realized that what he had felt was not pain, but pure sensation. It even felt almost pleasurable. All at once, Galactic Knight was on top of the world; He felt such a rush of adrenaline, such a surge of pure power within him, that nothing had ever felt so good to him before and would ever feel as good sense. He yelled mindlessly as the energy took control of his senses, feeling an explosive exhilaration in every nerve of his body. His eyes burned deeply, and so he closed them. When he opened them again a few seconds later, the former Star Warrior had been transformed forever.

The red energy suddenly let go of him. Numb and confused, the released knight tumbled through the blackness he had been floating in before landing once more with a thud. He groaned as he quickly stumbled to his feet. Bloodred eyes gazed through a mask that was now crowned with two horns, staring at the world around him with a new outlook, an almost childish naivete. He immediately noticed that his vision was sharper, as was his hearing. He could feel his muscles, tense, coiled within a body that retained the elasticity of his species but was now far firmer. Outwardly he looked much the same, but inside he had been changed forever.  
He had never felt so alive.

"Thank you", Galactic Knight murmured. He dropped to his feet, dipping his head and wings in subservience to the force which had granted him the dark gift.

Nightmare laughed in response. His booming voice seemed to grow and grow, and it felt now more than ever that Galactic Knight could hear Nightmare from deep within his soul.

"Excellent", Nightmare said.

"No more softness. No more compassion. You are a REAL warrior now."

-–

Meta Knight 's eyes popped open. The first thing his gaze settled upon was the warm brown glow of the canvas ceiling above him. All he could hear was the slight but steady creak-creak-creak of his rusted fan as it blew dry air in his direction. His tent was hot, the tiny triangular walls doing little to keep out the oppressive desert heat. He attempted to move and immediately had to stop, wincing as pain shot up his right shoulder and flooded his entire body.

It was afternoon, the day after the incident with Galactic Knight's reemergence and attempted assassination on him. Meta Knight had remained asleep for a long time. Whether this was due to the strong pain killers the nurse had offered him earlier, or sheer exhaustion from the battle he had experienced earlier that night, he couldn't say. It was not long before he realized that it indeed felt much better to be asleep. He cursed under his breath and squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to continue resting. However, due to the pain of his wounds and the intolerable heat of the late afternoon being trapped in his tent, resting further was impossible.

He rolled around in bed as much as he could without harming his injuries further, but soon gave up. The masked soldier carefully leaned forward, reaching his good arm over towards the book he had been reading the night before. The desert's suns beating down on his poor tent, if nothing else, illuminated the area enough that he could comfortably see the pages without having to light his candle. He decided to focus on little things like that, and the story he had been following, rather than the events that had transpired the day before.

Several hours passed before he heard a rustling outside of his tent. He looked up sharply, feeling a bit miffed as the interruption came during the climax of the story he had been reading. His annoyance evaporated as Sir Nonsurat strode in, carrying a strange yet familiar round object in his gloved hands.

"Greetings, Sir Meta Knight" Nonsurat greeted him with his deep voice as always, the tone seeming a bit mirthful for Meta Knight's tastes considering everything that had gone on recently. The wounded warrior raised a hidden brow in response.

"Greetings, Sir Nonsurat", he replied politely.

His yellow eyes rested upon the object the commander of the Axe Knights had been carrying, eyes narrowing to slits as he quickly realized where it had come from. Nonsurat held a large, white buckler with a distinctive pointed cross shape, the raised design tinted a light magenta. That was the shield belonging to none other than Galactic Knight.

Meta Knight gasped, his eyes flashing a brief prism of colors reflecting his strong, yet mixed, emotional reactions at the object. White in shock, red in anger, before settling on a bright green in contemplation.

"Can it be? …" He began, eyes traveling slowly over the circumference of the battered buckler before resting his own gaze upon Sir Nonsurat's with an almost rabid curiosity.

"How is it that you found this? Do you possess his mask and lance as well? And...and what of the rest of him?"

Nonsurat's amber gaze remained steady as he rested the round shield against the sandy ground beneath him, running a gloved hand along the buckler's rim as he responded.

"This was found at what we believe to be the scene of his death.", he began. He then proceeded to tell Meta Knight in as much detail of what they found – his shield, the blood, the swirling vortex, and all of the evidence pointing towards him being taken away by predators.

Meta Knight felt his head begin to pound as he listened to the tale, squeezing his eyes shut. It just didn't make sense. "What you describe does sound like he was taken away by something, perhaps a sandworm or rock golem or whatever else could possibly survive in this forsaken place... but it doesn't add up."

He set the book down on the sheets, slipping an arm underneath his mask to squeeze his hurting eyes.

"If there was something out there, something large and hungry that preyed on the weak, there is simply no way that Arthur would have been able to rescue me after the doomed mission. I'm fairly sure that I was the only thing alive for miles, and was technically an easy meal for a predator for days on end."

"Maybe they just weren't hungry that day.", Nonsurat quipped.

Meta Knight gripped his sheets with the wounded arm, sucking in his breath sharply as he tried not to allow his eyes to redden. He was not in the mood for jokes.

Nonsurat remained unphased by either his reaction or his revelation. "It is true that you were vulnerable, Sir, but you did not bleed. Galactic Knight's blood was all over the place. Perhaps whatever had gotten him was a creature that's only attracted to such scents."

Meta Knight slowly eased out of his death grip on the covers. Nonsurat did have a point, and it was that possibility that made him truly take his words as truth and not see the scene as an elaborate or even staged escape on Galactic Knight's part.

"That is a definite possibility", he stated.  
"But what of his mask, his lance? I'm sure that he would not have gone down without a fight, and neither of those pieces of armor should be digestible unless this thing that had caught him was truly enormous."

Nonsurat shrugged. "This is all we found, and there were absolutely zero leads found by the search parties in any other direction for miles around the base. What we can definitely deduce from this", he said, making a sweeping gesture to the buckler that rested by his feet, "Is that he definitely went this way. There was definitely a struggle of sorts, with something. And that now," he continued, "he is at least partially defenseless."

Nonsurat fixed his eyes on Meta Knight, amber gaze beginning to dim softly.

"If no one else, Meta Knight... you should be able to understand that even if he did survive, he will not live for for much longer."

Meta Knight gave a slight nod in response. He understood exactly what he meant.

Galactic Knight had suffered major injuries, and that sprint away from the fight probably took all the energy that remained in him. He couldn't fly, he could barely run, and if what the search parties had found was any indication, then he had no place to safely rest nor provisions to rely on. If he had gotten into another struggle that night and remained out in the desert until the morning and beyond, he most likely bled out under the relentless suns.  
Still, Meta Knight's brow furrowed as he thought of all the possibilities. There was no way Galactic Knight did this in a suicidal rush without any backup plan. There was a chance, however slim, that he had somehow survived. The lack of a body, or more accurately, the telltale cosmic dust that was left behind whenever his kind had passed onto the stars forever, needled away at him. He shook his head, slowly at first and then more violently as if doing so would shake away all of the doubts.

"Don't rack your brains over it", Nonsurat said with a dismissive wave. "I am officially listing him dead. If he isn't dead right this second, then he's good as dead out there in the desert without any help or water."

Meta Knight froze upon hearing his words, before slowly nodding in weary acceptance. Whether or not he had truly passed on, Galactic Knight would not be a threat to them for a good long while if the condition he was left in was any indication.

Sir Nonsurat moved forward, standing at Meta Knight's bedside. To the blue soldier's surprise the usually proud commander stood at attention, giving him a salute.

"Well done", he said warmly. "Arthur in particular, I believe, has plans for you outside of Rock Star after seeing what you have accomplished."

Meta Knight's eyes widened. "Really? Like what?"

Sir Nonsurat quickly turned around in response, sweeping his scarlet cape out from behind him as he began to exit the tent. "Just be sure to heal up soon so that we may have use of you again", he replied, grabbing the shield as he made his leave.  
Meta Knight watched him go with curiosity piqued more than ever, straining to hear the Axe Knight commander's last words as he left. He could hear the old knight muttering to himself as he slipped out from between the canvas folds, something about feeding valuable rations to a one-armed deadweight.

Although it had not been long, Meta Knight already knew that was simply the commander's bizarre way of showing appreciation.

He smiled.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

The recovery took months.

Meta Knight's days passed slowly, lazily, the thoughts of what had happened and what it meant tormenting him more than the desert heat or his wounds ever could. Galactic Knight's lance functioned more as a piercing weapon such as a spear rather than a sword, and as such left him with deep punctures that needed to be treated. Every wound the rogue warrior had inflicted while his lance had glowed with that unearthly white fire still burned Meta Knight day after day, almost as if he were freshly scorched. The horrible burning of the enchanted lance kept him awake every night, tossing and turning, no matter what pain killers or salve the nurses tried. "It burns", he mumbled to their concerned faces every morning, blue face pale and clammy with cold sweat.

It was during this time that Meta Knight taught himself to use his left arm more. Although they knew he would retain some degree of mobility, for a time the doctors were unsure of if he would ever recover well enough to wield a sword again. Rather than let that happen, Meta Knight forced himself to pick up and maneuver his rapier in his other hand whenever given the chance. He still moved as soon as he was able to, still exercised and trained the best he could every single day. And every day, he tried to move his right arm even when not recommended to by the medics, and was greeted with searing pain. But every day, he would struggle out of the bed as soon as the nurses left, a left hand weakly gripping the hilt as he shoved the sheets aside.

"That vile being will have my soul before he takes my swordsmanship."

This painful mixture of training and treatment continued on for months. In time, however, Meta Knight healed. All of his other punctures mended fully, although to the very day that he sat in that chair relaying his story, his right arm would still ache if practicing with the sword or lifting heavy objects for too long. He had retained his ambidexterity and rather than let anyone know of his perceived weakness, he simply switched to his left hand when needed.

Sir Arthur, in the meantime, had other plans for the knight than skirmishes in the desert. Soon after the incident, he informed Sir Nonsurat that Meta Knight, along with Sir Kibble and several other Star Warriors, were to be relocated away from Rock Star. Nightmare had set up a major operation on the far side of that solar system, on a tiny planet known as Shiver Star. Arthur was selecting a force to go over there and thwart Nightmare before he could set up a ground operation as deeply entrenched as Rock Star was, and was hand picking his finest warriors from each stationed planet. Arthur knew, from both witnessing and hearing of the knight's skills in the battlefield, that he was needed there.

The fateful day came with Meta Knight had to leave Rock Star behind.

Sir Kibble had also been reassigned as he was considered the head Cutter Knight of the planet's force, and stood next to his friend with eyes beaming blue with happiness. He hated the desert as much as everyone else, and although he knew that a place entitled "Shiver Star" wouldn't be comfortable either, he figured it would be better than baking to death under this barren planet's suns. The two stood some distance from the base along with a handful of other warriors. In the time that Meta Knight had spent recovering the base had been built up and was looking better than ever, with buildings, barracks and storehouses in place of the awful tents that had once housed them all. Meta Knight found it grimly ironic that no sooner did the base finally come together again, he was told to leave it.

Sir Nonsurat stood at attention in front of the group, eyes gleaming a neutral yellow. Although he was proud of Meta Knight, Sir Kibble, and his other men who had proven themselves worthy to go, he was still bitter about it to some degree. For one, Arthur was taking his best soldiers away from his own force. Another issue, the one that bothered him the most, was that he was not allowed to go to despite being by far the highest in rank on the planet. He was still needed as a tactician and coordinator; and Arthur wanted to make sure that even with its now depleted mineral sources, Rock Star would never fall into enemy hands again.

He silently ground his poleaxe into the sand with a twist of his wrist, looking to the sky.

The large triangular ship that had belonged to the head of the Galaxy Star Army was visible in the air high above them all. Meta Knight looked up, the slight visor effect his mask gave him nowhere near enough to keep his eyes from burning as he stared up at the bright blue sky. He ignored it, focusing hard on the growing dot between the two suns. Meta Knight had heard tales of how grand Arthur's ship was, but had never seen it in person before. The sight of the long, sleek vehicle descending upon the group left him in awe. The ship itself was elongated in front, the main body tinted a brilliant platinum. The ship's forward tip was "masked" in a way similar to Arthur's armor itself, with a deep gold shield face and the same slight design of the warrior's armor etched onto the top of the ship's pseudo-mask. The ship's wings were ornately decorated as well, two large backwards pointing protrusions that were silver colored and diamond shaped, giving the appearance of two blade-wings. The swordlike wings were attached to the body by a bronze ring where the hilt would be. Atop the ship's main cabin was a third fin on top, also silver and looking not unlike the dorsal fin of a shark. The ship tapered off in the back to a series of powerful engine jets. The vessel glowed a bright gold in the desert light, looking like a godlike being descending from the clear heavens onto the ground and its lowly denizens.

The ship landed a good distance away from the ground's tiny inhabitants, keeping a safe reach away from them but still close enough to kick up a terrific gust. Meta Knight and Nonsurat remained still, squinting as they tried to stand respectfully with their capes blowing about wildly behind them. Sir Kibble, a little less concerned with formalities, shut his helmet closed altogether. The doors silently slid open, a rush of cool air blowing in from the outside. Meta Knight walked over to Sir Nonsurat, their yellow glowing eyes locking for one final time. Nonsurat walked down the line and shook hands with every Star Warrior, giving a stern farewell and wishing them good luck. Upon reaching Meta Knight he simply looked to him, eyes unchanging.

"Try not to hurt your other arm this time."

Sir Meta Knight's eyes tinged a light blue as he nodded to the leader of Axe Knights, dipping his head respectfully. He turned to walk away, his heart heavier than expected.

The trip to Shiver Star did not take long, despite the planet being the second to last in the solar system of six planets. Most of the species that made up the Galaxy Star Army had been traveling space for centuries before the war, and their technology reflected that. A trip across a few planets such as this one only took several weeks.

Meta Knight still remembered the day he first stepped foot onto Shiver Star.

He had been looking outside from within Arthur's ship, glued to the window at every opportunity once the planet had finally come into view. The planet itself was tiny, gray, with splotches of white clouds. It was orbited only by a lonely moon. Meta Knight always found the sight of planets fascinating. Despite his training and experience, his years of space travel, he could never truly get over the fact that those funny orbs shaped exactly like his own body were entire planets. Worlds in which he could stand on, thousands of miles of ground beneath his feet, air that he could breathe and jump in. And if he looked up at the sky, he could see clouds – clouds like the ones he was now glancing down upon, from a very different perspective. He had spent much of the free time he had during the travel to read up on the topography of Shiver Star. What he read had made his jaw drop.

This planet, even for creatures practically designed for the extreme bodily challenges space travel entails such as his own, was barely inhabitable. The average temperature was -140 degrees Celsius; practically balmy by the standards of planets so far from a sun's orbit, but still incredibly uncomfortable at the best of times and dangerous under prolonged exposure. The planet had a particularly dense atmosphere, breathable for most species of the Army. However, due to the abundance of hydrogen, the air was not ideal and would leave his kind ill and dizzy if they had to breathe it for days on end without the controlled airflow of the bases to refresh their lungs. The air, however, was the least of their problems.

The planet was riddled with powerful winter storms every few decades that rose north from several 'eyes' of fixed storm activity, the most powerful recorded in the solar system. Although parts of the surface were more habitable, these storms were intolerable for all life forms with winds in excess of 500 miles per hour. It is because of this that past species have tried to settle on the Star, and were all driven away or killed off within several of these mega storms. For that reason on sections of the planet stood abandoned buildings, malls, factories. The powerful technology of the would be settlers had composed the only unnatural thing that could possibly withstand the conditions – the dimly lit, metal skeletons of colonies past.

The sky was almost always gray, tinted that color not because of the atmosphere but due to the always heavy, low hanging and very dense clouds that permeated the entire world. The ground appeared white as far as the eye could see, every inch being covered in snow. Plants were rare, tiny blue-gray shrub brush that managed to poke out of certain protective rock formations. There was no grass. The odd chemical makeup of this planet, however, gave it two distinctive features that caused it to stand out from the typical throwaway ice ball. The planet had a core that was so hot it radiated more than twice the energy than the sun, and it was from that source that the planet drew its power. The core had given rise to strange crystals that rose from the earth, glowing in beautiful and vibrant colors in the otherwise bleak landscape. The entire planet was rich in minerals for the harvest, but it was these strange crystalline formations that contained the most energy of all.

Nightmare wanted them, and had set up an operation to harvest them all. So inhospitable was this planet that even his own grasp on the rock was limited to one single base, carved into the inside of a mountain that they had turned into the center of an enormous quarry. The Galaxy Star Army could not allow this to happen.

Meta Knight kept the description in mind as he gazed out the ship's rounded window into the bleak white mass that had eclipsed his view. It was hard to imagine something that appeared so tranquil was so incredibly tumultuous beneath the plain, white surface.

In time, they landed.

Meta Knight as well as the other soldiers were too busy making preparations to watch their ship break through the atmosphere, but they all knew when it happened. The smooth golden doors slid open vertically, allowing the masked knight to file out behind the officers in front of him as they made their way down the ramp onto the planet. He was among the first to step outside.

The first sensation Meta Knight was aware of was cold. It him full on, at first merely being a chill that swept through his body before the pain began to set in. He felt it less so through his thickly padded gloves but it immediately slipped through his mask, his spaulders. His armor was meant to protect him from attacks, not weather, and provided little comfort. He quickly wrapped his cape around himself, unable to hide an involuntary but violent shudder as the cold swept around him. There was a light breeze going by. What would have been a gentle caress by the wind virtually anywhere else felt like an assault, the blade of an icy knife tearing skin. He tried to shake it off, cursing as he looked around blindly for the base.

"Get inside! Quickly!" A Chilly officer cried, gloved hands beckoning he and the other soldiers towards the base.

Meta Knight stared blankly at the snowman at first, having never seen one in person. They were elemental beings composed of ice and snow, a neutral species which was just as likely to be found in Nightmare's ranks as the Galaxy Star Army's.

He and the other soldiers filed past a round doorway into a corridor, a tiny entrance way for the steel fortress built deep into the crust of raised earth. He marveled at the design as he climbed inside, wondering what it took in order to build such a base. The long, protected tunnel led to a series of surprisingly small rooms. Soldiers and officers alike were assigned to rooms and ordered to unpack, before gathering in the center of the base to be briefed on their mission from Sir Arthur himself. Before long, all the recruits gathered in the main room.

Even though there were not a large number of new warriors that were shipped, it was still an extremely tight fit. Meta Knight was squeezed in next to an assortment of Sword, Axe, Mace, Javelin and Cutter Knights, all of them forming a very uncomfortable mass that impatiently waited for their commander's orders. He found the sensation of being so close to other people even more intolerable than the freezing cold outside, and it took every shred of his patience to not unleash sword from scabbard on his own comrades in order to clear himself breathing room. In front of the murmuring crowd stood Arthur, lavender eyes glowing from behind his helm.

He raised a hand, projecting in his rich tenor voice, "Silence!"

The din quickly died down as the golden warrior eyed them.

"Now then", he began, clearing his throat, "You all know why you are here by now. Nightmare has set up a base to milk this planet dry of its rich mineral resources – namely those beautiful crystals that grow in abundance here. If he is able to harvest those things, he will be able to create even stronger demon beasts, and in greater numbers than ever before."

His eyes narrowed.

"Our resources are spread thin as is. We cannot allow this, and that is why I hand picked each and every one of you for the task at hand. Our single mission here is to halt the gathering of those minerals."

An armored assistant ran behind Arthur to pull down a projection screen, handing the commander a thin stick before skittering off again. The room's lights dimmed, and on the screen appeared a map of the region in which the warriors were stationed. Arthur pointed to their coordinates, marked by a circle.

"Here we are. We have chosen this location carefully, as much so due to the brutal weather as the proximity to our target..."

He pointed to the north, stick thwapping against the projection canvas with a sound loud enough to startle the crowd. The tip rested on a big, red X that was set into a mountain range.

"This is where Nightmare's base lay" he said. "He has carved a network of channels deep into the earth there for mining the crystals."

"As you know, distance travel by foot here is nearly impossible" he continued. "The average time any species in this room is able to be in fighting condition, even with layers of clothing underneath your armor, is about 15 minutes. Anymore than that," he said grimly, "and the cold will do you in."

"However, we have ways around this issue. Our Chilly allies have provided us with the use of their technology – vehicles specifically designed for this cold. We will make our way to Nightmare's base in these. Air travel is too risky; we will be moving by ground exclusively, from heavy artillery like tanks to sleeker vehicles specifically designed for speed."

"Should we win, the Holy Nightmare Corporation will be very compromised. They are pouring a lot of resources into this, and are attempting to make this station their main output for demon beasts. If we can put an end to that before the operation can truly get going, Nightmare will be forced to fall back on already drained resources in order to produce soldiers...and that is when we can truly go on the offensive."

He paused, as if waiting to hear if anyone had something to say. The crowd remained silent, the only sound breaking the dead silence being a light rustle of armor as they shifted in the dark room. It was as if the reality of their mission, the grave importance, the reason they were all picked specifically for the task did not collectively hit them until that very moment. Meta Knight noticed that the commander did not mention what would happen if they were to fail.

He didn't need to.

"Prepare yourselves", Arthur said, his proud voice betraying the growing emotion in his eyes, "for you will not be experiencing the cold of this planet for long. Our mission will be put into action within the next few weeks."

He closed his eyes and stood tall, gloved hand giving the group of warriors a salute.

"You are all dismissed."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Short chapter alert! But it's all for the sake of organization. **

CHAPTER 12

The following days were devoted to honing the Star Warrior's skills, as well as acclimating them to the harsh conditions of Shiver Star. The transports from Rock Star, Meta Knight included, had a difficult time with the latter as their bodies had been so used to the desert heat. Meta Knight caught fierce colds, one after the other, for his first few weeks on the planet. But he always covered his cough by pretending to grunt or clear his throat, excusing himself whenever it lead into a coughing fit. His tired, flushed face remained hidden behind the mask.

No soldier had an easy time adjusting to Shiver Star, physically or mentally. One was punished by the planet itself for going out for any reason, with the wind and the frozen weather making each step a frozen hell. The doors of the base were also bolted shut at night when the weather was truly deadly, as well as whenever there was a dangerous wind storm. Though not the legendary 500 mile per hour monsters Meta Knight had read about, the blizzards still meant a swift death to anyone fool enough to step outside during one.

Because of this, the soldiers were almost always crammed inside with the exception of daily excursions, short training drills held in the snow. This lead to tension. Fights broke out almost daily amongst themselves, and many felt crowded and claustrophobic. Despite the hardships, neither Meta Knight nor the rest of the soldiers forgot why they were there. The harsh training was necessary if they were to do battle with the enemies at Nightmare's quarry.

As the warriors trained, Arthur and his top officers ironed out the details of their attack on Nightmare's base. Every Star Warrior had a place, every style of fighting at his Army's disposal had a purpose.

Arthur pored over his notes carefully, eyes radiating a steady green as he looked to his advisers.

"First, we will use the Beam cannons and Javelin Knights to launch a ranged attack at every watchtower around the perimeter. As they hit the outside, our Plasma Wisp scouts will float into the entrance ways, charge up and destroy the towers from within."

"By the time that takes place, all subtlety will be out the window; and so we will make our charge. Our tanks will come in at this point and will fire at anything in their path. Their job is to cut a way through Nightmare's ranks to make room for our Bomb units. The Bombers will seek out each mining tunnel they can, and with the Mirror Mage's magic as defense, they will set strategic explosives to bomb every resource tunnel they can possibly find. This will hopefully cause cave ins, and if not will still do massive damage to their operation."

"It is at this point that the real melee can come in. Our force of Knights will push as far in as they can through the relative safety of vehicles before abandoning them and slaughtering all they see, workers and Demon Beasts alike."

"And what of our Jet units?" A golden-armored Blade Knight piped up. "Surely they can be used somehow. They can launch themselves off certain vehicles, perhaps."

"Hmm...you're right, we could definitely use them, too..." Arthur responded, tapping the desk with a pen rhythmically. He squeezed his eyes shut.

–

After having been transformed into his newer, stronger self, Galactic Knight was given a few hours to get used to his new body and surroundings. He was lead by two Demon Beast guards to his new room. To the Knight's surprise, it was spacious, a circular space carved out of the same indigo marble that seemed to make up the rest of the base. Galactic Knight took the opportunity to practice his new powers with great pleasure. He couldn't get over how fast and easy it was to take off and fly, the sensation reminding him of when his wings first sprouted many years ago. He almost never tired when jabbing the air with his sturdy lance, and the bulky armor which encased his round body now felt so light that he forgot it was there.

His thoughts alternated between reveling in his newfound power and revenge. Revenge on Meta Knight, on Arthur. Revenge on them all. He could take them.

After he had rested, Nightmare sent a T.A.C in a white lab coat to give Galactic Knight a tour of the base. Galactic Knight was surprised at the round feline, who showed up at the door of his new quarters with a welcoming bow.

"Please, come with me!" the creature asked in a light, airy voice. "Nightmare himself has asked me to show you around, so that you don't get lost, yes. Come, come!"

The cat beckoned him with a yellow gloved paw before scurrying off. Galactic Knight took one step forward curiously, then another, before hurrying out the door to follow him.

"This is the Demon Beast training quarters!" T.A.C exclaimed, gesturing to a sealed door. The door was made of a dark, bolted steel that stood out amongst the uniformly purple walls and ceiling. Galactic Knight stepped forward towards the door, before recoiling in shock at the sounds coming beyond the door. He could hear a garbled chorus of yelps, pleas, screams. He slowly turned to look at T.A.C with eyes wide and pale.

T.A.C waved a paw dismissively in response. "Oh, that's nothing" he said soothingly. "Not all Demon Beasts are born avatars of war, you know. Most require a little...beginner training, just to get them started in the right direction."

Galactic Knight stared blankly. He gave a shallow nod after a few seconds, gloved hand slipping away from the steel door frame. The two continued their walk down the corridor as if nothing had happened.

Far out of earshot of the room, he could still hear the screams.

"This is the Lab! Oh, nonono, you can't go in there, silly! It's top secret!" The T.A.C chuckled as they passed a pair of wide glass doors.

Galactic Knight feigned casual interest to conceal his fascination, peeking inside from the corner of his eye. He saw a series of thick, blue tubes that were positioned vertically, each surrounded by a network of strange machinery. Each tube appeared to house a creature within it. Some where incomplete or malformed, some were obviously in the fetal stage. Some looked dead, but a few looked very much alive.

Galactic Knight's jaw dropped. He quickly snapped his eyes back to the hallway in front of him and his escort. He walked ahead stiffly, the stride hiding his failing confidence.

"And now, the kitchens. We have engineered top chefs from all over the galaxy in order to keep our forces well fed", the T.A.C exclaimed proudly. The exotic but delicious smells coming from under the double doors helped Galactic Knight quickly take his mind off his growing unease, focusing on the pleasant smells instead.

"Very good, yes" T.A.C muttered, noting the fallen warrior's reaction. "Speaking of which..."

The feline's ears flattened as he reached in the depths of his lab coat, digging absentmindedly before producing a shiny red lollipop.

"We have been walking for a long time now, Sir Galactic Knight. Would you like a snack?"

Galactic Knight eyed the pop warily. He still felt a strong instinctive distrust of this place, of the Demon Beasts and workers, of Nightmare. Of everything. But the sight of the candy, in his favorite flavor now less, gave him pause. He had little more to eat than bland army rations for many years, with treats such as candy being few and far between.

He told himself he was being silly for being suspicious. Neither Nightmare nor his forces would go through the trouble of poisoning or rigging a lollipop when the Knight himself was literally at Nightmare's disposal, and could be offed in far easier, more direct ways. And besides, it would be rude to refuse a gift from a new ally...

"Thank you", Galactic Knight replied politely, taking the lollipop.

The T.A.C opened his eyes enough that Galactic Knight could see that they glowed green.

"You're welcome! Come now, more to see."

The T.A.C walked in front of Galactic Knight, dipping his head low as he concealed a smirk.

Galactic Knight slipped the lollipop under his mask, happily sucking away at it while the T.A.C continued their tour of the base. He introduced his winged ally to the medical bay, the artillery room, and other places of interest. T.A.C had just finished showing him the bay when Galactic Knight finished his treat. He slipped his glove underneath the mask, removing the bare stick from his mouth. He was about to toss it over his shoulder when the T.A.C raised a hand quickly, whiskers twitching.

"Ah, sir...let me take that," the T.A.C said, holding out a gloved paw. "Nightmare appreciates it if we keep the floors of his buildings clean, after all."

"Ahh...my mistake" Galactic Knight replied sheepishly, feeling his cheeks begin to burn as he had been caught in the act of being messy.

He handed the lollipop stick to the T.A.C, who immediately took it from him before turning around. Galactic Knight tilted his body slightly, confused as to what the big deal was over a piece of trash. He guessed that as a T.A.C, it was in its nature to be fastidious.

The T.A.C turned his back to Galactic Knight. A green eye popped open, examining the stick and noting that it was covered in saliva. He carefully dropped it in a tiny plastic bag. In one swift motion he pocketed the bag inside his white coat before turning around to face the Knight again.

"Right, yes! Where were we? Ah, I should show you were the showers are! Right then, come along now!" T.A.C rambled cheerily as he marched on.

Galactic Knight raised a silent brow as he followed a few paces behind the odd creature, muttering silently to himself.

"Definitely a neat freak."

–

Weeks had passed on Shiver Star. Weeks of training, of fighting drills in the dangerously cold weather, of being cramped into the tiny base at all other hours. A few soldiers dropped off, having died due to either being unable to adjust to the change or through accidents such as being caught outside during a storm. The remaining Star Warriors were harder, stronger, more able to deal with the climate as well as being more experienced in fighting during their short window of allowed time. Arthur's plan had been ironed out carefully, refined in parts through intelligence gathered by the Galaxy S Army's T.A.C and Ninja forces.

Meta Knight laid in bed, holed up in his tiny room. The dead silence outside was at times broken by the shrieking of the neverending wind. His yellow eyes slowly rose to the ceiling as he lay, wrapped up in the thick red covers. He felt isolated in this space, almost as if he were in a tiny bubble far away from everything.

It was 2:57 AM.

His mission was to begin soon, yet he found it hard to believe. It had all happened so fast. The training, rigorous as it was, had helped him pass the lonely arctic days by. He felt tense. His job was to drive a tank with several other Blade Knights, as one of the many melee units that would be sent in to cause chaos after the bombs had went off. He took heart in that Arthur himself would be fighting side by side with his men.

Meta Knight turned to look at the clock. In three minutes, he and the other soldiers would get up. They would prepare, and leave, in the dead of night.

In three minutes, it would begin.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry it's so late! I had this typed up a long time ago but my computer ate it, I forgot what I wrote, and got too mad from losing it to rewrite for a long time.**

CHAPTER 13

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee-"

A white gloved arm shot out from underneath the warm cave of blankets, slamming the alarm clock with nearly enough force to break it. Despite having been awake for quite some time, the high pitched, persistent noise caused Sir Meta Knight much irritation. Especially when his frazzled mind was trying to focus on more important things.

Meta Knight slid off of his little mattress, still clinging to the red blanket that covered him from shoulder to shoulder much like his cape. The tired warrior stood still for a few moments, blinking himself awake. He was soon startled to alertness at the sound of a dim noise going off nearby – the muffled but unmistakable wail of a siren. His heart leaped at the sound, automatically assuming Nightmare's forces had caught wind of the planned attack and had hit their base first. However, he quickly realized that the siren was merely set to rouse the most stubborn of soldiers.

It did not take long for Meta Knight to get ready. After taking time to mentally prepare himself for the coming shock to his body, the Star Warrior left his warm blanket behind to make a dash through the chilled corridors of the base to the communal shower. While every room was decently heated considering the temperature outside, the larger areas just didn't sustain the heat as well. This meant every single trip across rooms was a brisk and very cold walk. Usually the stoic knight found it tolerable, but on a sleep deprived and urgent morning such as this it truly got to him. He muttered a stream of obscenities as he trekked down the barren hall, sabatons clinking loudly against the cold steel floor and creating an echo around him.

Meta Knight made it to the shower, the warm water that ran down his body rousing him out of a cold, dreary numbness. He washed in record time, knowing that the mission was going to start very soon. Before putting on his usual armor, Meta Knight donned a bodysuit that was almost the same shade of blue as his own skin. All members of the Galaxy Soldier Army were required to wear this for any extended activity outside the protected base, as the state of the art technology of the suit offered some protection against the cold. The bodysuit was thin but extremely warm, the material trapping nearly all of one's body heart while remaining light and flexible enough to use in battle. After wiggling into the suit, Meta Knight donned his cape, shoulder pads and mask.

Considering himself finally 'decent', he stepped outside of the locker area to peer into the hallway and see if anyone else had gotten ready yet. Already he could hear the murmurs and movement of other soldiers, several already making their way down towards the showers. Meta Knight wrapped his cape around him and made a quick and quiet exit, dodging the group of soldiers and heading back towards his room to pick up his sword and other necessary gear.

Not long afterwards, Meta Knight was paired up with the two others that would be riding with him in his tank. The two were Blade Knights, one in green and the other in blue armor. The two stood uniformally armored from head to toe, their long, plumed helmets concealing their facial expressions right down to the glow of their eyes. Despite this, Meta Knight could feel the soldier's excitement. He found their eagerness to head into such a large mission disturbing.

"They must be extraordinarily talented for Arthur to send such green men into a mission of such grave importance," he thought as he sized them up. "That", he mused glumly, "Or those selected just weren't enough in number."

The three exchanged greetings before being ushered out of the base as a group, taken for a short walk in the pitch black, far below freezing weather to the massive warehouse in which the Army's artillery was housed. The warehouse was a massive dome that rose out of the swirling snow, invisible in the darkness outside of the dim lights that lined the base's outside walkways. The violent blizzard seemed to surround all enclosures in a never-ending storm, enveloping the huge dome in a vortex of wind and stinging hail.

Meta Knight and the Blade Knights stumbled inside. Despite being a short, well lit walk and being dressed in thermal layers, they all felt like they had walked for miles. Coughing and shivering violently, the three were able to put their weather-related troubles aside as they laid eyes on the rows of siege tanks set before them.

Meta Knight lifted an eyebrow. The tank he and his cohorts were assigned to was massive, with the biggest treads he had ever seen. It was white and light blue in color, with the pale yellow symbol of the Galaxy Soldier Army emblazoned proudly on its side. An odd color scheme for an otherwise intimidating vehicle, Meta Knight thought, until he realized how well camouflaged such a thing would be in the snow. On top of the tank was a sizable Shotzo cannon, built into a box which was obviously a gunner's seat. Meta Knight's eyes glowed steadily, yellow orbs tracing the outline of the vehicle, the weaponry, and the little box. He was to be the gunman.

Overall, it looked incredibly solid; one of the few vehicles that one would not only trust to take into battle, but to even ride for extended periods in the weather outside. Meta Knight felt a twinge of envy that he was to be the gunner rather than the driver of such a powerful machine.

It was not long before the orders were passed to the shifting mass of soldiers to get into their respective tanks and move out. Meta Knight watched his sword-wielding comrades climb into the tank's interior. It was then that he noticed that their usually cramped space was made even moreso by being stuffed to the brim with explosions. It almost looked as if they were expected to ride in as a suicide mission, but that was of course not the case. At least, not for the soldiers themselves.

Their orders, direct from Arthur, were very explicit. Meta Knight and his men were to cause as much damage as possible to Nightmare's mining operation, and that was just what the tanks were going to do. They were told to, when past the initial defenses and close enough to the excavation sites, to abandon ship and drive the unmanned tank right into a mining tunnel entrance. The resulting explosion was expected to seal the entrance, if not cause a total cave in. With he and many other soldiers doing the same thing by jumping out of their tanks and causing as much damage in pure combat as possible, Nightmare's operation was to be at least severely compromised.

He and the other tank units were to bring up the rear, entering the fray only after bombs had been set and the initial charge had been made. Meta Knight climbed up the tank's walls before his round form disappeared into the gunman's box. He took one last look around him, at the chilly room in which the tanks were stored, at the lined up soldiers still grimly awaiting assignment. With one deep, quaking breath, he closed the door.

A few minutes later, he heard the rumble of the vehicle. His light body shook and rattled in his little box as his fingers flew over the controls, once again reorienting himself to the weaponry of the tank as the cumbersome fortress of metal began to move. The treads picked up speed slowly, propelling the vehicle through the lifted warehouse door and out of the security of their base.

Outside was pitch black. The screaming of the wind howled through even the thick, padded walls of the tank. It quickly chilled all within, especially poor Meta Knight who was stuck in an outside box less protected from the elements than the cozier interior below him. The terrain was bleak, snowy plain for miles on end, the ground appearing to move like choppy waves as an extremely strong wind blew endlessly over powdered snow and permafrost. The only thing to see outside of the eerie sea of white was a lone smattering of sharp rocks, pointed forms jutting out of the bleak landscape. It was still night time, and nearly impossible to see; all vehicles had to use their ultrasound to detect the topography as they went towards their destination.

Up front, Arthur had the Plasma Wisps, Capsule J and Bombing units. He needed his melee to get in after the initial defenses had been broken down; it was the job of soldiers who specialized in ranged firepower and explosions to clear the way for them. They traveled a good distance in front of the tanks, in something of a cross between an enclosed jeep and a high-tech sled. Lightly armored and low to the ground, these sleek white vehicles coursed through the snow silently. They were designed for stealth rather than siege. They glided through the landscape while making only the faintest whirr, zooming far ahead of the cumbersome but far more powerful tanks behind them.

It was about this time that the first sun began to cast its lonely rays on the forsaken planet. The sky slowly faded from pitch black to a deep indigo. The naked eye still found it difficult to see, but it was at least now possible to make out silhouettes by eyesight. One could see a dark point fixed and still against the snow and wind; the lone mountain that was the sight of Nightmare's chief operation, standing tall in the dark velvet sky. A carved path spiraled around the structure from its base to nearly it's tall, white peak. On the ground around it and out of sight of the approaching army was a series of excavation pits – the sight of the soldier's real goal. A network of tunnels dug deep into the icy ground, each individual tunnel leading to a carefully made path for carting the earth's bounty out from the mines to safety.

The mountain appeared a deep purple in the growing morning light, the early sun piercing the planet's thick clouds and causing everything to appear in foggy, faded silhouettes.

"Stop!" Arthur's main vehicle commanded through radio to all of the front most units.

All at once, the vehicles slowed down before assuming their planned positions around the mountain.

The vehicles stopped at a slight bank that overlooked a field, the center of which laid the mountain and excavation pits that were their goal. At first glance the field appeared completely empty- but Arthur and his spies knew better. Beneath the peaceful façade of snow the hard ground was littered with mines, while watchtowers surrounded the perimeter.

Arthur reached for his radio, communicating to the cruising sled in front of him. "Release the Wisps." He ordered. The Poppy Bros. bomber who was driving the unit gave a nod and a quick "Yes, sir" into the radio before he turned behind him in his enclosed sled, sliding the door open on a curious gray box.

A soft clicking sound began to radiate from the box as a soft glow was seen emanating from inside. The Poppy Bros. Smirked. "You're free to go, boys." He said, as an eerie green gas slid out from the box. A blue wisp of energy soon followed behind it. The two Wisps were composed entirely of plasma, seemingly without form except for their hollow, glowing white eyes. Oftentimes their kind wore gloves common within the Galaxy Soldier Army in order to better articulate their movements, but the green and blue pair of Wisps wore none and simply appeared as fiery orbs- they did not need gloves where they were going.

"Make us proud", the Bomber said with a smile.

One hand gripped his steering wheel tightly as he braced himself, sliding open the door to his vehicle. The cold wind blew in immediately, jerking his hat and coat around as he waved his hand to the wisps. "Move, move, move!" He yelled above the howling wind. The two Wisps crackled and ticked as they flew towards the entrance, moving slowly within the confines of the sled before the wind hit them and appeared to blow them out the door.

With great effort the Bomber shut the door, gasping and panting before reaching for the radio with a hand already coated with ice. "Vehicle 1 released", he said.

Arthur nodded approvingly, replying with a "Good work."

It was not long before vehicles 2, 3, and 4 chimed in; they, too, had released their boxes of Plasma Wisps.

The flaming Wisps flew through the winter night, blowing this way and that as their light bodies got knocked around by the blizzard wind but never straying from their destination. In pairs of green and blue the four Wisp groups headed towards each of their destinations, gliding safely over the mines but flying too low to be noticed as an aerial threat. Arthur had chosen his first line of attack carefully.

Vehicle 1's Wisps cackled and buzzed to each other, communicating in their own indecipherable language as they neared their target. It was not long before the two were floating next to the watch tower closest to the sleds. The tower was tall and skinny, conical in shape and painted grey to blend in with the snow and sky. All of Nightmare's watchtowers were entirely manned by Chillies, who could both stand guard at all hours and perform tower maintenance without succumbing to the planet's relentless cold.

The Wisps clicked rapidly to each other, darting around in place lightly as they laid out terse instructions. With one final series of ticks, the two separated. The blue Plasma Wisp began to ascend the tower, hugging the smooth metal so lightly that his trail of wispy flames licked the tower's walls as he flew up it. The green Plasma Wisp, meanwhile, slowly dispersed and flattened before slipping under the tower's ground floor.

The blue Wisp flew higher until the walls ended, being replaced with the open space that was the watchtower's top. At the top sat a Chilly, glinting coal-like eyes peering into the darkness from time to time while he busily distracted himself with a main console that operated the tower's cameras and radar. The Wisp easily slipped in. The Chilly noticed a flash of blue and looked up dumbly, senses dulled by the blizzard's visibility and obscene time of night. Seeing nothing, he shook his head and returned to the camera. It was only until he heard a light but persistent ticking that he truly became alarmed enough to turn around and see what was causing it.

"Must be a malfunction…damn these machines", the snowman thought as he began to look over the controls, trying to find the source of crackling.

Little did he know that the steadily building noise was the Plasma Wisp, hiding in a corner and vibrating rapidly as he began to charge up the most powerful Plasma Cannon possible. Soon the noise was unbearable. The Chilly's pace began to get frantic as he began to pace, wandering the circumference of the tower platform. As he rummaged around, his eyes slowly glanced upward as he noticed a strange light that wasn't there before. His black eyes grew wide as saucers as he gazed upon a terrifying sight; the Plasma Wisp was fully charged.

"Son of-" the Chilly yelled as his arms pinwheeled, scrambling to get away.

The Plasma Wisp exploded. A huge boom rocked the watchtower, frying the controls and sending a shockwave of flame and smoke shooting out of the round enclosure in all directions. The Chilly was vaporized.

Meanwhile, at the same time the green Plasma Wisp positioned himself deep within the tower's guts near the base and charged in a similar way, vibrating rapidly before releasing an enormous Plasma Cannon. The two explosions rocked the tower at the same time, the lower half and upper half being destroyed simultaneously. Not less than a second later, all of the other towers blew up at the same time. Not one Chilly guard had a chance to send out a message before they and the tower's other watchmen were destroyed in the blasts.

Arthur and the others in their sleds saw the explosions in the distance, tiny flashes of light visible through the blizzard. Through the wind and snow, it almost looked like flashes of lightning in a stormcloud. All was silent; then, the sleds all erupted in applause.

"Great job, guys!" Arthur shouted, though he knew that the only ones who could hear him were the Bomber drivers in their vehicles.

The wisps slowly floated back to the sleds, their brilliant flames almost completely burnt out from the explosion and exposing their weakened cores to the fierce winds.

A group of several TACs laid waiting in their own sled way off to the side, having kept a constant watch on the switch that indicated the activation of the mine field. The second the Wisps detonated the mine field switched off and stayed off. It was deactivated, the machinery controlling it destroyed in the blast.

"The field's deactivated! Go, go, go!" Arthur screamed into his sled's mic.

All at once, nearly every vehicle began to mobilize, sleds cruising ahead into the now safe field while the tanks slowly rumbled behind them.

Next up were the Jet units. They were deployed from several large holding vehicles in the very back, two groups of a mere dozen armed rocketeers. The Capsule's packs could only fly for extremely short distances before their engines would freeze up, and due to many flying aficionados either becoming airborne Wing units or flying an actual jet instead, there were not very many pilots experienced in flying their own bodies as vehicles in the first place. This gave Arthur a precious few to work with. However, he knew that that tiny amount of Js would do a lot of damage.

The Capsule Js flew out blindingly fast, arching into the icy cold air just as the dull wail of Nightmare's sirens began to echo through the bleak landscape. The Js flew right over the watchtowers, hurtling into the base as Nightmare's backup shotzos fired uselessly into the air where they were three seconds ago. That was the beauty of Capsule J units; they were so small and so fast that all but the most advanced missiles couldn't catch up to one in motion. Several different designs made up the force; some were one-eyed Capsule Js, while others utilized the two-eyed, blunt-nosed J2 uniforms.

Each one regardless of uniform carried a small box filled with the most potent bombs the ground units could create. The Js flew in sync past the watchtowers and mined fields, soaring past the main wall of defense into Nightmare's base before dropping cart after cart of bombs. The explosions lit up the fading night sky, brilliant orange and red punctuating the cool purple sky.

Nightmare's base had not been idle. All at once an army of Chillies began to pour out of the base, armed with everything they could find in order to stop the invasion. As Arthur had predicted this response all sleds were equipped with light guns and, most importantly, flamethrowers. While not a very effective weapon for anything else, the flamethrowers cut through the icy hoard like butter. Nightmare's tanks were trying to mobilize as well, but the Capsule J's carefully orchestrated attack was aimed at hitting as many of the enemy's own mobile units as possible. Many were destroyed before they even had a chance to be put into use.

Things grew ever more chaotic in Meta Knight's tank as the piloting Blade Knights trudged over the snowy expanse, following the sleds as quickly as they could. Meta Knight aimed the tank's main Shotzo dead ahead; although he did not have any enemies in sight yet, he was ready to blast any opposition at first notice. As the frontal units approached the wall, Meta Knight used the tank's long range vision to aim at a blank spot in the white wall surrounding the base; the designated coordinates in which every single tank was to shoot. Upon Arthur's roar of "Fire!", each tank deployed their biggest Shotzo blast at once. The wall was blasted away to nothing in an instant, the explosion ripping away enough brick to cause part of the surrounding area to collapse. Enemy units that had gathered on the roof of the wall with guns were either vaporized immediately or knocked away like dolls.

The fog and dust was rapidly whipped away by the blizzard winds, sizable chunks of debris hurled randomly by the gale as Galaxy Soldier Army flooded the compound. The sleds blew through their guns and flamethrower, pushing as deeply into the operation as they could in order to reach the precious mining tunnels.

From then on it was pure chaos. Meta Knight focused on nothing else but shooting, aiming, shooting; he thought of nothing but moving forward, pushing past the hoards of enemy units in the way and directing the doomed machinery he piloted to its final resting place. The Blade Knights underneath him were constantly going back and forth relaying orders, pointing out enemies and trying to chart their

course amongst both the unforgiving weather and constantly attacking enemy. It was not long before the three knights had their goal in site - an excavation pit was dimly visible amongst the wind and chaos.

The piloting Blade Knight gave a cheer and pressed on as quickly as he could while the other made preparations to get all three soldiers out of the tank safely. As he began the evacuation sequence, the three suddenly felt a sharp jolt that threw them forward in their seat belts. Screaming and cursing the other knight quickly overlooked the damage, the tank's internal computer blinking alarm about the tank's traction. Despite the months of intel gathered before this move not even Arthur himself had seen one of Nightmare's subtler defenses, which quietly filed into place around the perimeter of their overlord's most precious excavation sites. The Needlers were one of Nightmare's most precious creations, a Demon Beast created with one sick purpose: to impale. These creatures had all buried themselves lightly under the snow as the tanks approached and were shooting their pointy, needle-like appendage forward the second a tank tried to roll over them. Already several other tanks had been disabled, one treading air as the Needler's point pushed the tank to its side, another having been impaled right up its middle from underneath.

"TANKS, STOP! ALL TANKS! STOP PRESSING FORWARD!" the piloting Blade Knight cried uselessly into their now deactivated microphone.

Meta Knight looked on grimly at his own computer readings, yellow eyes darkening.

To the two underneath him he calmly stated, "Abandon ship. We'll get outed and shot if we stay in here. We have to move forward, and continue with the mission. Set the bombs to go off and evacuate."

The other Blade Knight blanched.

"B-b-but Sir!" He stammered as they began to hear a rhythmic pounding on the tank's walls from outside.

"We are nowhere near posi-"

"Do it."

The two Blade Knights looked at each other and gave a nod. The tank was doomed and if they didn't act fast, so were they; at least the explosion would create a distraction and hopefully take out an enemy or two that was close by.

Meta Knight's glowing gaze narrowed as he looked at the young knights from the trapdoor to his gunner's box, all three bouncing lightly with each reverberation from the outside as enemies tried to get in.

"We have to time this perfectly or we'll get eaten alive the second we step out of this door", Meta Knight stated.

He looked to one Blade Knight.

"Ready your weapons get into position by the door. On my word, unlock the door and set the bombs to go off in five seconds."

The two were so scared that Meta Knight could hear the light rattle of their armor as they shivered violently from something other than the cold. They had never seen battle, had never come this close to death. Their fantasy of triumphantly blowing through this mission, of seeing their enemies fall before them and coming home a hero, was evaporating before their eyes. Meta Knight was scared, too, but he could see that the novice soldiers were both on the edge of losing their nerve and needed a leader.

There were few times in his life he was more grateful for his mask concealing his expression than now.

Meta Knight crawled out of the gunner's box through the trapdoor he had been addressing them from, the three maneuvering uncomfortably in the tank's space to be ready to burst outside the door.

"We have to time it so that the second we are clear of the door, the tank goes off." Meta Knight said in a voice kept as level as possible.

"On my word...set the bombs to go off in 10 seconds."

The pilot Blade Knight unlocked the door. The vibrations, which were ever growing as the three discussed their escape, suddenly ceased upon hearing the heavy clink of the door unlocking.

Meta Knight squeezed his eyes shut.

"Now."

All at once the other Blade Knight pressed the button on the explosions, quaking wildly as he and the other two burst forth from the tank. The heavy door took several seconds to swing open even with the force of three very desperate men pushing behind it. The knights tumbled out of the tank in a matter of seconds, the vehicle's door creaking as it reluctantly spilled its flesh contents onto the bloody snow. The second they touched the ground they did not think of anything else, did not notice the Chillies actively working to pierce through the tank, didn't hear the gunfire around them or anything else.

They ran. They ran and ran as fast as they could, floundering through the snow and scrambling over each other just as the explosions detonated behind them.

Their run turned into flight, the next thing Meta Knight being aware of was his purple sabatons tumbling over his head as he and the others were tossed a good dozen feet from the blast. He rolled twice into the snow before smacking into a wall, his helmet being knocked off center and stunning him momentarily.

Fear and adrenaline brought him back in record time, though he could still hear nothing but a loud and persistent ringing in his ears. Hearing nothing else but the hellish ring he withdrew his silver rapier from its sheath, the metal of the sword catching the reflection of several enemy Cutter Knights that had engaged him. He slashed; they dropped. He was in full battle mode, thinking nothing, reacting only on instinct and in response to anything coming at him. He slashed mindlessly at the hoards in front of him in a blind and instinctual blood lust, piercing eyes glowing white as he downed one foe after another on his blade. He barely recognized that he had been hit, that the cold that had finally gone through his suit and armor; he was too far gone.

Meanwhile, Arthur and all of the surviving knights had left their vehicles and had done the same. Several tanks had made it to their destination and had blown up the pits; another had been deployed prematurely much as Meta Knight's own vehicle had. The Galaxy Soldier Army was winning.

Suddenly, Meta Knight's swinging abruptly stopped as he saw something small and horned descending from the sky, sword held upward and white wings outspread in the growing dawn's light like some sort of twisted angel. Although his armor was different and his eyes looked nothing like the Star Warrior he once knew and considered a friend, the blue warrior immediately knew at first glance what this creature was.  
His grip around his rapier tightened until it hurt; his eyes darkened until they were a deep, burning scarlet. His fists shook as he stood there, the rest of the battlefield phased out in his mind, all senses focused on the one being he hated most. The hate welled up within him upon seeing his enemy, every fibre of his being wishing to end the life of the monster that had caused him and his comrades so much pain.

"Galactic Knight!", Meta Knight roared.

The winged warrior chuckled warmly in response, almost as if he had heard a mildly amusing joke.

"We meet again, Sir" he responded, drawing out the last word in mock respect as their reddened eyes met. Galactic Knight's voice took Meta Knight aback; it was now deep and hollow, almost ethereal in quality compared to before.

The blue Star Warrior advanced forward, one step followed by another as he stated, "You shall suffer a death befitting of a traitor".

Meta Knight's cape spread in the howling gale, the purple fibers joining through his body suit onto his back to unfurl his indigo, batlike wings.

Without another word, he charged.


	14. Chapter 14

Galactic Knight tensed slightly, wings flapping steadily despite the blizzard wind rushing around them. Although Meta Knight felt the cold it was not until he launched himself into the air that he felt the strong wind as well. The gusts blew tiny chunks of snow and hail in all directions, pelting his wings, wedging itself in clusters under his armor, shooting through his mask visor into his eyes. Blown off course and partially blinded, the blue warrior's attack barely glanced his opponent. Galactic Knight merely brought up his shield to deflect the blow; he didn't have to move.

Meta Knight quickly turned around with sword at the ready, blowing this way and that in midair as he struggled to keep balanced. He had his first indication that something was different about Galactic Knight, something wrong. Although Meta Knight's wings were granted by dark magic he was still a very powerful flier. Despite this, the blizzard was just too much for someone of his light weight and stature; when airborne, his round form was being tossed about like a leaf in the wind. Galactic Knight meanwhile had managed to stay afloat without an issue, even to hover in place, without succumbing to the gusts or ice.

He quickly shook himself out of his pondering as Galactic Knight slowly turned in place, crimson eyes alight in cruel merriment. Even with a mask concealing both of their faces, the ex Star Warrior could tell from his rival's body language that Meta Knight could sense his new strength and was unprepared.

"You have no chance" Galactic Knight boomed as his lance began to glow a faint pink through the gale. "I would grant you your life if I weren't so eager to rend you to bits and take your mask as a trophy."

The taunt infuriated the already angered Meta Knight and he charged again, body spinning into the death whirl that was his signature aerial move. But Galactic Knight was prepared this time. Even with Meta Knight using the direction of the wind for momentum Galactic Knight had dodged in the blink of an eye, causing Meta Knight to spiral and tumble in the air once again.

Galactic Knight saw that he was in the process of turning around and used the vulnerability to his advantage. The demonic warrior lunged forward with his shield, bashing Meta Knight in the back hard and causing him to spiral out of control. Meta Knight flapped uselessly in the freezing air as Galactic Knight glided, circling around him like a hungry wolf.

Meta Knight fought to stay aloft but the propulsion from Galactic Knight's shield hitting him and the gale blowing in random directions were too much. His wings crumpled and reverted back into a cape as he fell the short distance to the ground, landing with a thud and knocking up a tiny poof of snow powder. He quickly righted himself, back screaming in pain but still able to function. He barely had time to register what was going on before Galactic Knight dived towards him with his lance pointed forward.

Meta Knight managed to roll out of the way, assuming that Galactic Knight was trying to dive at him. However, a short distance from the ground the feathered warrior stopped. He hovered in place and lifted his lance high, emitting a war cry before plunging his pink lance into the ground. The snow around him immediately melted to nothing, flames erupting from the lance as the power of his blow somehow generated a small tornado. Meta Knight was in absolute shock as he watched the twister form from the pure power of Galactic Knight's evil magic and turned to run, plated boots slowed by the rapidly melting slush as the wind of the tornado dragged him in.

The tornado was a whirlwind of fire, the conical shape burning straight through the snow as it slowly advanced towards Meta Knight. The Star Warrior scrambled back a few paces before turning tail, running as fast as he could. He could feel the heat of the vortex as it advanced ever closer, trying to suck him in. With a burst of adrenaline Meta Knight shot forward, managing to outrun the tornado for long enough for the powerful but short lived twister to burn itself out. He turned to face Galactic Knight again, eyes wide and glowing white, panting heavily, beside himself in terror. He now knew that the Galactic Knight he once knew was completely gone, and that what stood before him now was a twisted monster with power beyond his imagining.

Seeing that Meta Knight was terrified and could do little to retaliate, Galactic Knight began to toy with the warrior like a predator with its prey. Every movement of the horned soldier was slow and deliberate, savoring every minute of his opponent's fear. Galactic Knight landed several feet away from him and merely raised his arms, reciting a quick series of words in a language that Meta Knight didn't recognize. The confused knight raised his sword in a parrying position and backed away slowly; what he was not expecting was the threat to come not from his nemesis, but instead the very ground around them. Six points on the icy earth began to glow eerily, a ball of barely noticeable white-hot flames appearing to flicker in and out of existence as if it were an illusion.

One of those flames was positioned directly behind Meta Knight, unbeknownst to him, and he was backing right into it. He felt the heat on his back and shot forward instinctively, yelping as each one of those points suddenly shot up from the ground in a narrow column of flames. The hellish circle entrapped Meta Knight, the flame closest to him nearly catching on his cape. Meta Knights' senses went numb at the sight; fire, in the snow? Galactic Knight caused this? But despite his disbelief, he could not deny the sudden surge of heat from the hellfire surrounding him, the dancing of angry orange and red that rose upwards into the sky and defied the blizzard winds that swirled around them. He also was surrounded by the flames in a perfect circle; he had no escape. Meta Knight held his sword up as if to fend off the very air around him, darting in circles within the flames like a trapped animal while Galactic Knight watched the spectacle from just outside the fire. He laughed and laughed.

"This isn't even a challenge", Galactic Knight drawled as his rival stood still upon hearing him.

Meta Knight's anger knew no bounds, but he could see from that little display that in Galactic Knight's presence he was now truly impotent. He calculated his next move as the flames died down, allowing him access to his enemy. In a rage Meta Knight flew forward, metal sword a blur as he slashed as fast as he possibly could. Galactic Knight brought up his shield and managed to deflect several of the blows before one managed to catch his arm, glancing and causing a sizable slash. Galactic Knight grunted in pain and shoved Meta Knight off, feathered wings flapping to propel him into the air. Meta Knight looked up at him, hidden face contorted in rage as his sword tip glistened with fresh blood.

Nightmare's minions, who were until now far too wrapped up in their own survival to notice, began to watch from a distance as the two battled. It was not only the hordes of Demon Beasts that were keeping an eye on the fight, however.

"You shouldnt've done that..." Galactic Knight said in a low voice.

He brought up his sword slowly before retaliating, flying forward than Meta Knight had ever seen anyone move, lance firing off wave after wave of Sword Beams at the warrior. Meta Knight tried to get out of the way but had no choice; he was bum rushed and slashed by the beams repeatedly. He felt searing pain as Galactic Knight's Sword Beams cut wide swaths in him; the odd sudden chill on his exposed cheeks as his mask got shattered from the blow. He squinted as full light hit his eyes, seeing the silver disc of his mask fall to the ground in pieces; his face was now unprotected. Realizing the danger he was in Meta Knight immediately went on the defensive, trying to parry every blow he could and put distance between him and the horned warrior. However, he just wasn't fast enough. Amongst the frenzy Galactic Knight managed to close the distance and connect with flesh, his lance piercing right through the left of Meta Knight's cheek to the point of almost impaling him.

Meta Knight froze, twitching lightly. The only sound he made was a choked gasp, a sputtering cough before blood began to pour out of his mouth and wound. Galactic Knight looked straight into his eyes, gaze unwavering as he watched his former friend die. He slowly withdrew the lance, admiring the blood and bits of gore on it with an almost perverse glee. For the first time since they had seen each other again, the blue Star Warrior saw Galactic Knight's eyes tint blue.

"Delicious..." the horned soldier murmured.

Meta Knight stood still, twitching as he watched the blood spill out of him and soak into the snow beneath his feet. He fell backwards into the cold ground, staring skyward and choking out bloody screams as the gaping wound left him wracked in pain. His sight began to fade, the blackness starting from the corner of his vision and advancing inward. He was cold, so cold...cold inside, far deeper than even the blizzard and icy floor could penetrate his exposed flesh. His mouth gaped open and closed like a land bound fish, the gloved arm that held his rapier shaking.

"No." echoed through his head, holding onto one prevailing thought as his mind got increasingly clouded and muddled.

"No…no…"

Not only had he been defeated by his mortal enemy, he had been completely dominated. With Galactic Knight on Nightmare's side, as powerful as he was, he knew deep in his heart that the Galaxy Soldier Army would have no chance. This mission was going to be a loss; the ground they gained was to be quickly recaptured by Nightmare's forces. Nightmare won.

Galactic Knight won.

As his vision faded more and more he felt tears begin to sting his dulled eyes, causing his last swirling vision to be a blur. He had long before mentally prepared himself to die in battle, and had been determined to go out with the quiet dignity of a knight; but he could not bring himself to face Galactic Knight's victory with calm acceptance. His breathing became more and more irregular as he felt his strength slip away, his entire body becoming turbulent and jerking spastically. His blue skin began to gain a red tinge all over as his body experienced its final rush.

When his kind passed, their bodies almost immediately disintegrated in a series of small explosions with their dust lightly floating away to rejoin the stars. In peaceful passings it was eerily beautiful, but in the case of violent deaths, the breaking apart is forced, unnatural, violent. It wasn't a nice way to die.

He could hear a curious popping echo from within him, rapid fire sounds at several intervals a second. Each pop sent a searing jolt of pain through him, causing him to thrash onto the snow even more. He felt his throat clog from his prone position, gasping desperately as he began to choke on his own blood. His body began to heat to an unnatural degree; the snow around him melted further, sinking him into the ground. Each time the internal explosions went off around his wound he tried to scream in agony, but all that came out was a tiny gurgling gasp. Waves of pain shot through his head, his eyes, as the self-destructive process moved onto his brain. His body convulsed uncontrollably, kicking up mounds of dirt and snow. So far gone was he in agony that he did not even realize that Galactic Knight was walking up to him, lance drawn and ready to deliver the final blow.

"Galactic Knight!" a familiar voice cried, tenor echoing through the snow.

The advancing soldier stopped upon hearing his name called, turned, ran out of Meta Knight's field of vision. Meta Knight squeezed his own white eyes shut before hearing another voice pierce through his muddled mind, unfamiliar, feminine.

"Medic, get a medic here RIGHT NOW! Injections and stabilizer!"

The voices forced him back into a bleary focus. He almost smirked through the haze of pain…injections? It was too late for that. He felt something touching him, two round arms much like his own rolling his reddened, twitching body over to its side. He then felt a rhythmic but gentle pounding on his back. Still convulsing, he lurched forward and vomited up the blood that had been trapped in his throat and guts.

On top of the shouting for help he heard the familiar male voice again, tense with anger.

"You have single handedly compromised the operations on an entire planet, tried to assassinate one of my top soldiers, and betrayed all of us to the enemy. I swear by my sword you will pay for the damage you have done to the Galaxy Soldier Army. "

"Master has given me power rivaling yours" a mocking voice replied. "Try me, old man."

Meta Knight suddenly felt a prickle on his violently twitching arm. He tasted something funny in his mouth...salt? He had been spitting up so much blood that he couldn't be sure of what he was tasting anymore. The convulsions slowed, stopped. His eyes dimmed out completely; his facial features relaxed. As his ice-encrusted lids closed he saw the last vision still clear in his minds' eye before he had been rolled over, of the night's stars fading into the light of dawn. He held that vision as long as he could, the image fading, melting, becoming ever more blurry until all he could make out was the last tiny flicker of a lone star.

Arthur stood tall, eyes glinting a bright and angry red as he called out to his enemy across the scarred battlefield. Galactic Knight stood a meter away, sword still glistening with the blood of his newest victim already crystallizing in the cold. The winged warrior glared, red orbs of hatred burning deeply within his white mask. He was infuriated at being denied his final triumph.

Arthur was usually the picture of control; a good strategist and very diplomatic, all of his subordinates knew him as virtually unshakable. But seeing the way Galactic Knight had toyed with Meta Knight like a cat with a mouse, sensing the new evil magic emanating off of him that could only come from Nightmare's dark touch, had sent him into a rage none had ever seen before. He had tried to intervene but kept getting stalled by minions; he was too late. Seeing Meta Knight's convulsing body with a hoard of field medics swarming over him, the same Star Warrior that had almost been killed by Galactic Knight twice now, had sent him over the edge.

Arthur leaped into the morning sky, predicting Galactic Knight's strategy of taking to the air and firing pot shots at him, before bringing his sword down with the fury of the entire Galaxy Soldier Army behind him. Galactic Knight dodged lightning fast, but Arthur was one of the most powerful warriors in the entire galaxy, the best of all knights. Even Nightmare's magic could not protect the twisted soldier. With a flash of his golden sword Arthur had managed to wound Galactic Knight's wing, a small blow but enough to ensure that taking off would be too difficult to do in combat. Galactic Knight roared in pain and fury before stabbing the ground, causing a shock wave to course through the ground and hit Arthur. The green-skinned general felt the earth tremble violently and got jerked off balance, stunned. Sensing opportunity, Galactic Knight charged forward with lance aimed dead center.

Arthur's eyes narrowed at the corrupted being rushing him; he had had enough. He was very reluctant to do what he was about to, but he could sense that Galactic Knight had Nightmare's dark gift bestowed upon him. Arthur held his sword high, eyes beginning to glow more and more until they gleamed like pinpoints from many yards away. Galactic Knight tried to hit him but was knocked away by a quick smack of Arthur's sword. The hit felt different; he could feel that it was not just melee, but now had some sort of odd magic behind it. It drew no blood, but despite being hit by the flat of his blade it left a deep, searing mark that ached terribly. He watched as Arthur raised his sword high once again.

A sudden beam of light rose from him into the heavens, piercing beyond the clouds and into the stars. Arthur's entire body glowed white, so fiercely that Galactic Knight was forced to shield his eyes. The ground beneath them both began to rumble. Galactic Knight's face paled behind the mask, red eyes fading. He knew what was happening and, for the first time since his transformation, felt fear pierce his dark heart. The young warrior knew that Arthur was invoking his most powerful attack- a sword beam so powerful that few dared to use it because channeling such power was likely to kill its own wielder. The battlefield slowed to a stop as the sky became unnaturally dark, the sun appearing dim as the sword beam drew all the light around it into its force.

"Divine Sword Beam!" Arthur screamed into the light.

A tremendous beam of energy shot forth, so wide that close minions from both sides wanting to intervene were forced to scramble for their lives. The sword beam caused a massive earthquake, causing a small fissure in the ground as it shot towards Galactic Knight. Galactic Knight crouched and held his shield out in front of him but was wholly swallowed up by the encroaching light. His scream was muffled in a sound not unlike a hurricane as the godly force cut right through him far more deeply than a mere sword could, the energy shocking every nerve of his system, the light burning him like a liquid fire as it coursed through his eyes, his mouth, his arms and legs.

Arthur stood still with all the light from his figure drained away, the golden-clad warrior's eyes completely grayed out from under his mask. He wobbled forward, backward, and fell over into the snow. The battlefield had fallen silent. Nearly all skirmishes stopped as both sides watched to see their two respective leaders, in awe at the divine beam that had swept through the bloodied snow. In the stillness a medic dared to rush from Meta Knight's side to Arthur to check on him, and was able to get the golden veteran to his feet.

Fear rippled through Nightmare's ranks as they saw the aftermath; their leader Galactic Knight lay crumpled in the snow, a pink sphere encased in a bed of seared feathers. His entire armor had been ripped off and shattered right down to the torn fibers of his gloves, wings draping over him like a mangled bird. He did not move; his singed body hissed in the snow. Slowly the battlefield roared to life again as the entire Shiver Star force, morale empowered by seeing their leader victorious, pushed forward with a new vigor.

Nightmare's minions were pushed back, their own morale completely sapped and the remainder of their leadership broken apart and scrambling. No fighter from either side noticed the blue Star Warrior lying in the snow, a team of medics swarming over him like insects injecting him with everything they could to keep his innards stabilized and reverse the process of dispersion that his body was going through.

...

"So...you died and that's it? You've got to be kidding. Thanks for the tall tale" Escargon sneered.

Meta Knight's eyes flickered.

"I didn't die, or I wouldn't be sitting here telling you this. What happened was more to the equivalent of if your", he continued, rotating his gloved hand at Escargon as he tried to remember the word. "most vital organ...heart, I believe...went out. You're clinically dead but there is a chance, however small, to resurrect you. They managed to do that to me. I was still seriously injured of course, and out of commission as a soldier for a long, long time...years... but I lived."

"And what of Galactic Knight?" King Dedede asked incredulously, leaning forward with arms and chin resting on his hammer.

"That was the last time we'd seen him", Meta Knight said with a shrug. "As far as all of us were concerned, he had been killed. He certainly looked dead, and we never saw him again."

King Dedede sat up abruptly.

"Well you must have pissed off his ghost because that thing wrecking my beautiful castle sure looks and sounds an awful lot like him!" The penguin whined.

Upon their leader's movement the seated Waddle Dees began to chatter amongst themselves, eying the seated Meta Knight before looking back to their friends, whispering into each other's earholes.

"He's obviously been alive and well for a while if he was able to plot revenge and come track you down on this planet," Fumu mused. "There must have been some way he managed to survive..."

...

"Nightmare… I have bad news to report from Shiver Star," a voice echoed throughout the large, dark marble chamber.

Nightmare, who was brooding over Demon Beast sales numbers on a nearby monitor, looked up at the speaker with a long frown etched upon his face. He tilted his head downward to peer at Customer Service, vapor floating out of his hollow eyeholes that remained partially obscured by glasses.

"_What_."

"I-i-it appears that our, oh, our Shiver Star operation is, well… compromised. Quite compromised. The mountain base has been taken by the Galaxy Soldier Army, with many of the excavation pits destroyed."

Nightmare's face remained blank. He looked at the whimpering Customer Service with unblinking eyes, his frown growing deeper. Without a word, the ethereal being turned around.

"Ah...that is just a setback." he said in a low voice. "It will not be long before we reclaim every inch of lost ground, both there and on Rock Star."

Customer Service's jaw dropped.

"Sir, with all due respect given to one as powerful as yourself, if I may be so bold as to inquire…why are you not more concerned over this? We have lost that planet's stock in energy crystals to the Galaxy Soldier Army. We've lost a perfectly good mining site and quite a few Demon Beasts. We even lost Galactic Knight.

"Mmm…" Nightmare mused. "Because I am certain will retake the planet with the power of my new project as soon as it is completed. But the loss of soldiers is the very reason why I exclusively utilize Demon Beasts and mercenaries - they are all expendable, replaceable. You know that!"

"I understand sir, and it does make sense to retaliate with the 'big guns' as soon as we can deploy them," Customer Service replied. "But what of Galactic Knight? You trained him, gave him power. You even put him under a spell that gives him no choice but to fight for our cause. Surely he alone is at least worth a rescue mission…?"

Nightmare waved his crooked hand dismissively.

"He would be, under normal circumstances", Nightmare said. "But he is no longer needed. Having him fight for our cause was merely a perk, though I do wish he could have been utilized by us for longer. It doesn't matter; we now have what we truly needed from him."

"We do?" Customer Service asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Sir… I don't understand."

Nightmare turned silently to one of his monitors, punching a code onto the touch screen before yelling into the monitor's built in speakers.

"Lab-TAC #AO3-B! Report!"

A merry face suddenly flickered onto the screen, ears flattened submissively as the feline grinned at his boss.

"Yes, sir! What can I do for you?"

Nightmare stepped aside from his monitor somewhat, making a sweeping gesture to the nearby Customer Service.

"This project is still to be kept top secret…but we can let this one in on some of the details. Show him the sample."

"Sample?" Customer Service asked, gulping instinctively.

He pictured all sorts of horrible things Nightmare would want to "sample" from one of his beasts or soldiers for use in the lab – arms, legs, various body parts, brain matter.

"At once, sir!" the feline said. He disappeared off screen before the monitor suddenly swung around, peering into a translucent green cylinder. There within the depths of the tube, sealed as if it were a nuclear chemical, laid a tiny, discarded candy stick.

Customer Service leaned forward, squinting and adjusting his glasses.

"That's the sample?" he asked, quirking a brow as he looked at Nightmare. "A piece of garbage?

Nightmare laughed, the eerie sound never ceasing to send a light chill up his subordinates' spine.

"This is so much more than a mere piece of garbage", Nightmare replied. "For you see, it contains the one ingredient most vital to my project."

"…Dirt? Paper? Spit?" Customer Service inquired.

"Spit!" Nightmare said with a nod, face breaking into a decrepit grin. "Bodily fluids such as spit contain something more powerful than all the magic in the universe, the very foundation of my production of Demon Beasts… the gift of life."

Customer Service stared blankly.

"DNA, you numbskull!" The cat shrieked through the screen. He then turned to face Nightmare, shaking his head dismissively.

"Anyway, Sir, I am pleased to report that multiple extractions of DNA from the candy stick had been successful. We are already working out how to integrate it into the project and have several test fetuses that were created using cloned samples."

"Splendid!" Nightmare said. "Anything concrete yet?"

One of the TAC's ears went back as he looked down. "Well, er, not yet. You see, DNA is a very careful process and there is lots of rejecting done by other cells when one tries to unnaturally mix them – but we're getting there! Things are moving along approximately according to the timeline I had laid out for you."

Nightmare gave a nod to the technician before dismissing him with a "Very Good", turning off the monitor.

"As you can see", Nightmare said to Customer Service, "We may have lost Galactic Knight himself. But soon we will have many more like him, all of them better in every aspect and unquestionably subject to my will. And," Nightmare added with a smirk, "This new breed will be proficient at far more things than just melee combat…"

The TAC sighed as he turned off the monitor, having given his leader one final salute before the transmission cut. He glanced over to the tube that housed one of the experimental fetuses, the still-forming glob of cells and tissue floating in the liquid. It was tiny, round; a perfect circle.

**Author's Note: **If you were wondering where the tornadoes and fire and crap came from I threw in lots of in-game attacks in this Chapter. Minus Arthur's, because as an Anime character he still hasn't been featured in any games yet *coughs, nudges HAL labs*


	15. Chapter 15

Dedede glared at the seated warrior. Meta Knight, having told his tale, had fallen silent and resumed his usual brooding.

Fumu sat back in her chair, barely able to process all she had just heard. Meta Knight had certainly been through a lot, and all of what he said was dated before he had even obtained Galaxia or went on missions with Jecra and Garlude; she could only imagine what he had been through after being promoted and given more power, more responsibility.

Dedede pointed a gloved finger at the Star Warrior.

"That little story was all well and good, but you mustn't forget now that your place is as my personal bodyguard! Even worse, that thing is here because of you in the first place!"

The penguin slammed his fist on the armrest.

"I hereby order you to go destroy him!"

Meta Knight's eyes flickered. He hopped off his chair, glove concealed beneath his cape already fingering the hilt of Galaxia thoughtfully. He carefully made his way over to the stairs as the others watched, stepping over the books and rubble that had been knocked down from the chaos outside. Blade Knight and Sword Knight fell into a silent procession behind him.

Fumu grimaced. "Sir, where are you going?"

Meta Knight stopped without turning around, wrapped up in his cape with his back facing her and the others.

"Where else?" he replied flatly. "To go fight him."

Fumu shook her head, while Memu wringed her hands nervously.

"Are you crazy? After you just told us about how powerful he is, you're going to go attack him anyway? We're all in a good place to quietly escape and evacuate the village. You're safe here, and we can keep you that way until he gets tired of razing Dreamland and goes away again. To go out and face him is suicide!"

Meta Knight didn't flinch. "It is true that he's strong", he began.

"However, when I last faced him was many years ago. Before I was promoted…before the end of the war…before Galaxia." He said solemnly. "Galaxia is by far my most valuable asset, but I am far stronger then I was back then. It would not be as uneven as it was many years ago."

The last part came out under his breath, so quietly that Fumu barely heard it.

"If nothing else, I can satiate his bloodlust so the rest of you may be left in peace."

"No! Sir Meta Knight!" Fumu cried, but he continued without a word. "We…we can call Kirby!"

Upon hearing this, the blue warrior stiffened.

"NO." He barked, his voice so uncharacteristically loud and sharp that the entire room flinched.

"But why not?" Bun piped up after a few moments of tense silence.

Meta Knight turned to face him, yellow eyes boring into the little boy.

"Kirby must not be involved. He is very young and inexperienced. Even his miraculous copying abilities can't stand against Galactic Knight's assets. He has the gift of dark sorcery mixed with untold years of experience as a knight and general. Besides…this is my fight."

Fumu bit her quivering lip. She wanted to argue, but in the face of that argument she had no idea what to say. Despite his bravery, Meta Knight was the type to let others do his dirty work for him – namely, Sword Knight and Blade Knight. At first, she couldn't quite grasp why he would be so determined to take Galactic Knight on his own. However, as she mulled it over she could see where his viewpoint was coming from. As awful as the thought of losing Meta Knight was, Kirby sacrificing himself to a lost cause while so young and talented was even worse. Also, if the village lost both Meta Knight and Kirby they would all be doomed.

With a whisk of his cape Meta Knight turned back around and walked up the creaky stairs, ascending silently before looking down the path he just traced to make sure none were following behind him.

His eyes darkened as they scanned the crowd, gaze resting on Fumu.

"Stay".

Escargon leaned back on his stool until his shell rested against the wall, laughing "You don't have to tell me twice!"

Dedede shifted.

"I must supervise my people", he said with a confident grin, hand sweeping over the resident Waddle Dees and Parm's family.

Escargon rolled his eyes.

"I am sure you will do so with the same intensity that you supervise the TV and the back of your own eyelids, Your Majesty."

"Damn straight I wi-hey!" the king spluttered.

"It really is for the best, guys. We just want you to be safe" Blade Knight interjected, Sword Knight nodding in agreement behind him.

Fumu looked to Bun and quickly mouthed something that no one else could hear. Bun nodded. Meta Knight took a deep breath before he left the sanctuary, his two followers leaving as well and closing the dusty cellar door behind them. The two children sat in their chairs, hands gripping the dusty wooden stools as they watched the shaft of light disappear from the Knight closing the door on them. The room grew quiet. Not long after Fumu and Bun both suddenly sprinted from their seats, dashing up the stairs and following behind them.

Everyone gasped.

"My baaabies!" Memu wailed, getting up just as fast as her children and sprinting up the stairs with the agility one in such a long dress should not be able to muster. Parm held up a hand as he watched his wife go, jaw agape as he processed what just happened in the past few seconds.

"H-hey, Memu, get back here! Kids! Everybody, stay put!" He shouted as he ran out the door behind them.

Escargon watched them leave blankly while the Waddle Dees erupted, many pacing while they all chattered to each other in their mysterious language.

Dedede shook his head amongst the pandemonium, shrugging as he watched Parm take off after his family.

"Kids. Who needs them? Or wives, for that matter. All you need is a harem and a few good servants, I say. Or at least, an incompetent one. Hm. Speaking of which…ESCARGON!" he shouted over the growing din of the Waddle Dees, "Shut these things up!"

The sun caused Fumu and Bun to squint, their eyes having been used to the darkness for so long. The scene did not look much better from when they had escaped; in fact, it looked worse. The castle had shown signs of serious damage even from the back, the ruins smoking with giant stone blocks and debris littered everywhere. The two looked around blindly before taking off, running with their bodies as low in the grass as possible to aid in cover. Fumu couldn't see much besides grass, although she knew from memory where they were going; towards Kirby's house. She ran and ran before colliding into something hard. She rocked backwards before falling over, a great big lump appearing between the bangs on her forehead.

"Uggh.." Fumu said, dazed, before looking up to see a circular form with very angry red eyes.

She stood silent, entranced and terrified by those eyes.

"S-s-s-sir Meta Knight! F-fancy seeing you here", Bun interjected behind her, face plastered with an enormous toothy grin.

"_I told you to stay." _The Star Warrior growled.

"Sir, we just know that help is important! We weren't going to follow you into the fight, we were going to go get Kirby! Just in case!" Fumu said.

"It's true!" Bun added hastily. "We know you don't want him to get involved but-"

"Get WHO involved…?" an ethereal voice chimed in from behind them.

The three whirled around to see none other than Galactic Knight, the winged warrior hovering in place over them. Parm and Memu arrived seconds later, Memu quickly wrapping her arms around her children while Parm gaped at the sight.

"Is this what you've been reduced to, Sir?" Galactic Knight crowed. "Fraternizing with civilians? Or are you using them as meat shields to try and elicit pity from me."

"Leave them out of this. Parm, Memu. Take the children and get as far away as you can!"

The parents grabbed their children and turned to run back to the cellar before a white blur blocked them. Parm shivered as he realized he was staring at a magenta-crossed buckler, its owner pointing its lance at the family.

"You're not going anywhere." Galactic Knight said. "I want an audience."

"You bastard! They're unarmed, completely innocent! There's children!" Meta Knight said, his voice breaking slightly.

Galactic Knight smirked underneath the mask. He enjoyed keeping the family captive almost as much as he did watching Meta Knight suffer in the past. Already the cruel warrior had taken note of a new weakness. The usually stoic Meta Knight was capable of emotion after all; in fact, he apparently had quite a bit of compassion for this family. Galactic Knight was tempted to torture the children in front of his face but his urge to kill Meta Knight once and for all was too strong. Twice, he had been denied. For many years he had been sealed inside NOVA, discovered and sealed up by the comet as soon as it recognized a malevolent force independent of Nightmare. For many years he had been plotting his revenge, dreaming of this exact moment. He couldn't care less about the family, the children, the castle and village, or anything else on this useless planet except for him. Meta Knight needed to die.

"I don't feel like killing your family, you pudgy beast" Galactic Knight said to Parm dismissively, "But if you try to escape I will impale you all without a second thought."

"This is all my fault", Fumu whimpered as she put her head in her hands, shoulders shaking from light sobs.

"It's okay, Sis…we were only trying to help." Bum said glumly.

Sword Knight and Blade Knight began to dive in front of Meta Knight before hearing,

"No! Guard the family!"

The two armored knights nodded simultaneously and took off without a word, the eyes of both veterans following them as they positioned themselves protectively between Galactic Knight and Parm's family. Galactic Knight could care less; two less bodies in the way of his goal.

The horned soldier turned to face his rival, lance hoisted and aimed dead center at him.

"Now then…Prepare yourself!"

Galactic Knight dug in his heels before using the momentum to spring forward, white wings spread to gain air before folding tightly against his round body. Shield held up protectively, he charged towards Meta Knight with lance glowing. Meta Knight huddled, waiting. When his rival was mere inches away, Meta Knight leaped out of the way. His jump easily cleared his rival's body and wings, landing behind Galactic Knight as he struggled to break his own momentum. Meta Knight glared, gloved hand quickly unsheathing the radiant golden sword Galaxia. Galactic Knight turned and crouched to charge again before his gaze widened at the sight, red eyes sizing up his opponent and much more importantly, his far more powerful weapon .

"The sacred sword Galaxia.", he murmured, eyes darkening as they met those of its wielder. "And it's now in your possession?"

The silent Star Warrior chose not to dignify that with a response. Instead, he unfurled his cape into bat-like wings and took off into the air. He made a lightning fast dive at Galactic Knight, who was forced to duck with his shield held upward to dodge the blow. Spinning on his heel, Galactic Knight's own feathered wings spread in response to quickly take off after Meta Knight. The two met in the air in violent clashes, blow by blow, clashing sword against lance before breaking off and wheeling around to dive again. From a distance, the ascending warriors looked like fighting hawks.

Meta Knight flapped his draconic wings as fast as he could, yellow eyes never leaving the warrior beneath him as the two fought to climb higher in the sky. Each one wanted a height advantage over the other; all the more ability to dive, to strike from above or behind. In flight, each one had their own strengths and weaknesses; Galactic Knight was a more experienced flier, with wings that were actually a part of his body. They were broader, taking up more wingsail and being better for soaring. However, despite getting better air and being far more efficient for long flights his wings were not able to fold and turn as tightly as Meta Knight's shorter , thinner bat wings; a fatal flaw in combat. His wings were also tied to his own physical energy; much like running for long distances, flight could wear his entire body out.

Meta Knight's wings were transformed through dark magic, and thus only affected him on a spiritual level. He could sense when they were about to give out, but it was more like gas running low in a vehicle; they did not affect his body nor swordplay. His wings, however, were not made for flying in the same way that Galactic Knight's were. They were meant for sprinting, diving, turning; he could not soar or glide as effectively. This meant that while Meta Knight was able to shoot up far higher at first, he was quickly losing altitude to his opponent. It was not long before Meta Knight was no longer the one doing the diving, but was instead dodging blows from above as Galactic Knight glided effortlessly above the struggling warrior. He was fast enough to dodge his sword beams and diving lance attacks; however, Galactic Knight wanted to do more than attempt to pierce through his armor in midair.

Meta Knight heard the light woosh of the air around him as his opponent dove at his back, and he wheeled around with Galaxia out to parry the blow. However, Galactic Knight whizzed past him without touching him. He felt a light tug on his wings before his body was violently thrown forward, spinning several times before plummeting towards the ground in a dizzying freefall. Galactic Knight had focused on his wings, his lance tearing a hole through the durable material and forcing it to revert back into an ordinary cape. Meta Knight grabbed at the air helplessly as he fell, masked rival circling above his falling body like a vulture.

Meta Knight struggled as he fell, the ground rushing closer and closer as he tried to reform his wings. He thought about that time on Rock Star when he was blasted out of the plane; if he could do it then, he could do it now. All at once his cape folded tightly into itself before spreading into wings again. However, he was far too close to the ground to do anything but slow his descent. The falling warrior was able to angle himself slightly to the ground before hitting facefirst with a thud, mask hitting his concealed head so hard that he temporarily blacked out. The body of his species was an excellent shock absorber, and deaths from falling alone were rare unless they were thousands of feet high. However, the contact with the ground was still enough to injure him. As he lay on the ground, Galactic Knight landed a few feet away from him.

He wasted no time examining his opponent's condition. Choosing to use Meta Knight's grounded position to his advantage, he drove his lance into the ground to create a sword-beam induced fissure. The shockwave hit Meta Knight in a flash, searing his body back into consciousness and putting a deep crack into his mask. Immediately Meta Knight was on his feet again, coming to his senses to scramble out of the way of another charge and fire his own sword beams in return. Galactic Knight held up his shield, sabatons digging furrows into the ground as his magenta buckler deflected each blow.

"Sir Meta Knight's losing!" Fumu cried, teeth digging into her knuckles as she watched the fray anxiously.

"Yeah, Galactic Knight's not even breaking a sweat!" Bun exclaimed in agreement.

Parm watched silently while his wife held their children as closely as she could, one arm around each sibling's shoulder.

"There's got to be a way…he needs help!" Fumu cried. Blade Knight slowly looked over his shoulder at the children. Although his eyes were not visible, the silent gesture said all he needed to: "don't even think about making a break for it." Sword Knight paced nearby, holding his sword so hard that his fists hurt. Fumu's eyes darted from Blade Knight to off in the distance where Kirby lived; there had to be a way.

"I know!" Fumu cried. "Blade Knight, we'll be safe with you, but let Sword Knight go get Kirby! We really need him, Galactic Knight is going to win!"

Upon hearing his name Sword Knight looked up sharply, almost as if being shaken out of a trance.

"I agree with you, Fumu, really..." Sword Knight replied with a quavering voice, "But my orders are to guard you and the others. I will not disobey them."

"I think there may be certain times where disobedience may be pardoned," a voice piped up. Sword Knight looked past Fumu, eyes flashing under his mask in surprise to see it was none other than Blade Knight who said that.

The plumed warrior smiled under his helm.

"Fumu's right. I can hold Galactic Knight off for at least a little while but if Meta Knight falls, we are all in trouble. We have no choice but to get Kirby involved. I can protect the family and lead them to safety if worse comes to worst, but the two of us together couldn't stop Galactic Knight alone anyway. If anyone around can, though, it's Kirby."

He put a hand on his friend's shoulder, clasping his friend's round, green spaulder as he eyed him.

"Go on. I'll keep them safe, promise."

Sword Knight looked at his old friend, heart racing at the thought of what he was about to do. He was not only going to disobey Meta Knight's orders, but abandon his friend's side as well. He was going to leave the defenseless civilian family with just one guardian against this monster. Every fibre of his being wanted to say no, but he knew that there was wisdom in both Blade Knight and Fumu's words. He was right; they needed Kirby. Meta Knight needed Kirby.

He gave a nod to the group before turning around. With a deep, quaking sigh, the green-clad warrior sprinted off as fast as he could.


	16. Chapter 16

Bleary eyes slowly opened, a fuzzy pastel colored haze fading into view of a soft, rainbow field. The gentle, shimmering grass glinted, softly changing color with each light stir of the breeze. The grass stopped abruptly at an earthy field. On every inch of the tilled dirt were plants that rose to the sky in silky vines peppered by bright red orbs. Tomatoes! Tomatoes as far as the eye could see, each one perfectly round and soft. There were big tomatoes, small cherry tomatoes, medium ones that would perfectly fit in the palm of one's hand. The faint, mouth watering smell hung in the air as each one beckoned to be tasted, to be released from their protective nests of leafy vines. One in particular called the loudest. Dewdrops rolled down the side of its merry red skin, inviting one to come closer...closer...

"Kirby!" the tomato screamed.

"POYAAAAAHH!" Kirby screamed, flailing wildly as his eyes shot open, falling out of bed.

"Poyaiu...eggh.." he groaned, a thin slime trail of spit following from the bed down the rumpled sheets to his mouth.

Sword Knight paused for a second to gape at the scene - although he had first felt incredibly guilty about bursting through the door to bother Kirby, at this rate he might of eaten his pillow if undisturbed.

"Knowing Kirby," Sword Knight thought, "Maybe even the entire bed. No wonder he doesn't have much furniture."

He helped him to his feet, kicking the blanket aside.

"Sorry to disturb you but Fumu, Bun, Sir Meta Knight and the entire castle's in trouble! We didn't get the chance to come get you earlier, everything happened so fast, the village is in ruin and we had to take shelter..."

"Poyo?" The sleepy mist in Kirby's eyes vanished. Swiping at at his still drooling mouth he wormed his way out of the blankets and cast aside his nap hat. The pink creature dashed out of his house, running towards the castle at a speed that Sword Knight couldn't hope to keep up with. The green Knight ran after him, panting as all sorts of horrible images played in his head; Meta Knight being defeated and killed, Galactic Knight turning on Blade and Parm's family to satiate his bloodlust…

Minutes later Tokkori came flapping up, gasping from the effort of flying top speed to the little round house.

"Kirby! KIRBY! Wake up, you slob! I went out to catch the earliest worm in Whispy Woods and heard the buzz from the other animals. And then from the distance I saw smoke and flew to the village, only to see it had been destroyed! And then I went to the castle and found that all blown up, too! I can't find Fumu or Bun or anybody! Wake up, wake up, wake uuu-huh?"

The bird landed with a flit of his wing at the entrance to Kirby's house, the round door still open and creaking lightly from a breeze. Tokkori hopped around the perimeter. He stuck his neck out slightly to peer inside the door before hopping up to the window to look in there, too.

"Pfah! Not here. It figures. Even when he sleeps in, I can't catch him."

Tokkori spread his little wings before flying back towards the castle, hoping that Kirby would have been observant enough to examine the source of trouble rather than raid the melon fields again. He flew low to the ground in an erratic pattern, wings beating without rest as he cursed to himself the entire way.

CRACK!

The sound reverberated through the field as Meta Knight smashed into the rocky outcropping. Thrown there by a well-aimed Sword Beam, the knight was hit in the back and fell over with a soft rustle of cloth and armor.

"Noo!" Blade Knight cried, holding out a gloved hand to reach towards his mentor as he stayed dutifully close to his charges.

The limp blue form quaked, gloved fist grabbing the ground and driving light furrows into the dirt as the body it was connected to righted itself. Meta Knight stumbled to his feet, swaying lightly as if he had been drinking. The Star Warrior peered out at his enemy through a deeply cracked mask, yellow eye flashing in and out as he blinked away blood.

"Stay out of this", he shouted to Blade Knight before turning to run, Galactic Knight in hot pursuit behind him.

Meta Knight had put up a good fight for a long time but had been finally worn down; his armor was cracked and his senses were still reeling from the fall earlier. His cape was far too torn to be used in flight. Meta Knight soon found himself out of room to run; behind him was nothing but rock, and in front of him was nothing but Galacta.

"All of the power that sword wields and it goes to waste", Galactic Knight sneered as he faced the bleeding warrior. With a flick of his wrist he sent forth a powerful sword beam from his lance, hitting Meta Knight again. Meta Knight weakly parried the blow, falling forward onto his gloved arms from the effort.

"You should stop fighting and make this easier for both of us." The demonic warrior stated flatly. "You know that it's over."

"Not...yet." Meta Knight said, summoning up his strength and leaping into the air to do a drill move. Without the momentum of his cape as wings, however, the move was far slower and more easily telegraphed. Galactic Knight waited until he came close, sidestepped him, and hit him hard with a shield bash in the side as Meta Knight glanced him. His arm smashed under his shoulder armor, Meta Knight lost balance and fell in a heap to the ground.

"POYO!" a high pitched cry rang through the rocks. Both knights paused.

"Kirby...Kirby! It's Kirby! Sword Knight did it!" Fumu cried.

Bun and the family began to cheer. Kirby ran over to stand between Meta Knight and Galactic Knight, tiny arms outstretched in a blocking gesture. Meta Knight 's bleary vision opened in surprise to see the corner of a red shoe. Despite everything, his heart sank to the floor. He felt something well up inside him, something he had not felt for more years than he could remember. The battered veteran pawed at the ground, trying to reach out to Kirby as he weakly pleaded for him to stand down.

"This is not your fight. Don't do it."

Both fighters ignored him.

"This?" Galactic Knight boomed at the tiny, unarmed creature that stood before him, "This is your protection? Your savior? Why, it's just a boy!" His glowing eyes hardened as he stared at him, red orbs tracing his figure. This had to be some kind of trick. This was ridiculous. Insulting.

"He needs a sword" Blade Knight commented.

"He needs Warp Star!" Fumu said.

The young girl clasped her hands together quietly, sending a loud prayer to Kabu to release the lightning fast vehicle that would aid Kirby in his battle. Her eyes squeezed shut, brimming with tears as she thought about Meta Knight lying defeated in the battleground, of Kirby quite possibly ending up the same way or worse. If there was any time she and the others ever needed him, ever needed the aide of Warp Star, the time was now.

Kirby struck a fighting pose as Galactic Knight's wings flared, lance rising. The two stayed completely still, the horned knight 's stance coiling back like a snake. At once, he struck with a jab so lightning fast no one else even registered it. Kirby dodged it, standing on one foot. Piercing blue eyes never left his opponent as he slowly settled back into a fighting ready position. Galactic Knight was taken aback; that was a test of his ability and nothing more, and he had passed. If nothing else, he thought, the kid was VERY fast.

Galactic Knight jabbed at him again, again, each time from different angles to try and land a hit. Kirby dodged each one with ease, moving with an almost unnatural fluidity. All at once, he jumped into the air and delivered a kick to Galactic Knight right in the middle of his cross-shaped visor.

With a curse, Galactic Knight stumbled back, his mask vibrating rapidly and ringing in his ear. He looked up with eyes darkening; he could now see that this new kid wasn't meant to be a joke or distraction. He was serious. His fighting style reminded him of the Galaxy's most renowned Suplex wrestlers and martial artists, his speed of the highest-ranked Biospark ninjas. But how? He was so young, younger than the youngest soldier he had ever seen. Those of his age couldn't even entertain the idea of fighting, let alone display any form of expertise.

Meanwhile, Blade Knight unsheathed his sword. He carefully turned it around to hold his own weapon blade first, the hilt aimed at Kirby.

"Hey, Kirby! Catch!"

Kirby saw what he was doing over Galactic Knight's shoulder and gave a tiny, barely perceptible nod. Seeing the signal Blade Knight threw the sword, weapon spinning into a high arc over towards the two. Galactic Knight thought it was a surprise attack from behind and darted out of the way; his eyes grew round as saucers as he watched Kirby not only stand his ground, but open his mouth and swallow the blade whole. The transformation was instantaneous; the sword appeared in Kirby's hand, and a small green cloth hat materialized onto his head. All at once, he was armed.

Meta Knight, who was still watching what he could from his prone position, managed to smile through his cracked mask.

"S...sword Kirby."

Galactic Knight stood, jaw dropped, as Kirby lowered his sword into a perfect defensive position. The ability to transform was fabled amongst his people, but it was considered the stuff of myth and legends; while agile and adaptable, intelligent, and even able to wield magic or learn to fly, no one being could master everything at once. It was impossible. And yet this young boy had displayed near perfect fighting, immense strength and agility, and the ability to wield a sword all within the span of a few minutes. Galactic Knight peered into those deep blue eyes again, his own gaze narrowed into slits. There was something about this boy that he found unsettling other than his legendary fighting skills, something deeply wrong.

Kirby leapt forward, slicing his sword in several deep strikes as he closed the distance. Galactic Knight anticipated his slower movements and attempted to charge into him, swerving at the last second to hit his side. However, Kirby predicted it far in advance. The veteran's pink lance clashed with the small blade, its wielder using the momentum to propel himself backwards and land on his feet.

Kirby wasted no time, diving back in with a series of rapid sword jabs. Galactic Knight blocked one, another, another; they were coming from all directions, too many to predict. He felt them pelt his mask, his sabatons, his shield and spaulders. He hissed in pain as the sword cut flesh, hitting him with several rapid jabs to his arm. The blood flew across his mask like spilled paint, whipping out of fresh wounds and across Kirby's sword as he continued to strike relentlessly. The Star Warrior shook under the barrage, being forced to block every single blow rather than retaliate before he got away. His white wings spread as he took into the air, panting.

Fighting this boy head on would be dangerous and unpredictable; he had a solution for getting rid of him quickly that wouldn't get his hands dirty. A white blur descended from the skies upon Kirby, who held up his sword in preparation. What he wasn't expecting was Galactic Knight to simply knock him off balance by holding his buckler out, dazing Kirby for the few precious seconds he needed for his next move. Wheeling around, Galactic Knight dove at Kirby with a flurry of feathers. He aimed low, so low that his gloved hands were outstretched and ready to pick Kirby up. Before Kirby knew it he was snatched up feet first and sailing up into the air upside down. In surprise he dropped his sword, his hat flying off into the clear blue sky seconds later.

"His sword!" Bun gasped. "He's not Sword Kirby anymore!"

"Kabu..come on!" Fumu begged silently.

The castle of Dreamland became smaller and smaller as Galactic Knight flew straight upward, the merry land spread out beneath them like a patchwork quilt. From their distance, it looked deceptively peaceful. Kirby had been flailing uselessly before he went limp, very slowly and quietly sucking in air through his open mouth. Galactic Knight hardly noticed it in his haste; if anything, his burden kept feeling lighter.

Finally, he felt that the height was good enough to ensure certain death. Galactic Knight threw Kirby, flying away with a cackle. Kirby was thrown forward from the momentum, spun…and hung there. Galactic Knight paused to hover, eyes drained of color as he stared in pure shock.

Kirby was floating like a balloon, drifting downward slowly and steering with his stubby arms.

Upon seeing this, Galactic Knight grew furious. He flew higher into the sky until he was above Kirby and out of his line of vision. Kirby glanced upward, torn between keeping an eye on the flying enemy above him and the advancing ground below him. For a few moments, everything felt peaceful - he was below the clouds, drifting slowly while the breeze comfortably blew him this way and that. Suddenly things seemed darker, as if he was in the shade. Squinting, Kirby looked up to see the dark spot grow into a full shadow. Galactic Knight was descending at the breakneck speed of a diving falcon, lance pointing downward.

Kirby was not moving anywhere near fast enough to get out of Galactic Knight's way, but he was still far too high to let go of his breath safely. He tried in vain to fly away, arms flapping as fast as they could, but there was no way to get out from under the attack radius at his pace.

At the last second, Kirby spat out his air with all the force he could muster. The act of spitting propelled him a few dozen feet to the right - just enough to dodge the plummeting attack that streaked past him. However, without his air he had no flight. Kirby plummeted like a rock. Desperate, he panted and tried to suck in air again, but the air was rushing by too fast for him to inflate enough to save himself. He watched Galacta plummet as well, the momentum of his dive being too severe for him to quickly pull out of. Kirby watched the ground get closer, closer-

Thud.

The wind was suddenly knocked out of him as he landed on something oddly smooth. Scrabbling to hold on, he managed to grasp tightly at the crook of two sharp angles. Kirby soon realized that he had been swept away by Warp Star. He focused hard on the shaky object beneath him, projecting as much control as he could. Warp Star reacted immediately. The ride slowed, easing up enough for Kirby to get on his feet. Now the pilot, he angled the rocketing star down towards the earth at an incredible speed.

He only had one thing in mind; getting his sword back. The star went closer to the ground until the earth sped by rapidly underneath him, a mess of colors and shrubbery that was spinning by too fast for his eyes to register. He crouched low, one arm bracing himself as the other hung off the Warp Star at an angle. Amongst the chaotic sea of green and brown he made out a faint glint of silver; his sword! However, he realized that his arm wouldn't be able to reach it. Holding onto the Warp Star as he slowed it down further, Kirby braced himself and opened his mouth.

The mixture of whizzing by the sword and Kirby's already powerful suction power caused the sword to go flying right back into Kirby's stomach. Once again it appeared in his hand, its wielder holding extra tight to it this time as his Warp Star climbed back into the sky.

Meanwhile, Galactic Knight had finished his dive and peeled out if it, using the Warp Star's drop in speed to his advantage. He angled himself carefully, wings adjusting in the air until he was directly behind Warp Star. Once in position, his lance glowed eerily; he swung his arm, lashing the air violently to produce sword beams. The blasts caught Kirby by surprise at first, causing his lightweight Star to wobble erratically as if it were a surfboard in choppy waters. Kirby responded to the threat by turning around, ready to face Galactic Knight this time with his sword glinting in the sun. He flew up into the old warrior's face, slashing rapidly.

Galactic Knight immediately wheeled backward with his wings, not willing to get into close aerial combat with one perched on a state of the art vehicle such as the Warp Star. He fired sword beams from his lance as he retreated, each beam from the glowing lance causing a thunderous crack in the air as they hit the Warp Star. Kirby could see that Galactic Knight was trying trap him, leading him around in circles while slowly wearing down Kirby and his Warp Star through the superior range of his longer sword beams.

Kirby's frown deepened.

He pushed his Warp Star for a burst of speed, flying dead center at Galactic Knight before firing off a single, precisely aimed sword beam. The beam flew through the air, nearly invisible except as a faint, white crescent of energy. Galactic Knight made a sharp right to dodge the beam but he was too late, Kirby was too close. His strategy of tailgating the Warp Star had backfired.

He suddenly felt an unimaginable pain, felt his world begin to spin as he plummeted through the air with a good chunk of his bloodied, severed wing falling lifelessly below him. He screamed soundlessly as the wind rushed into his lungs, eyes blind and brain unable to process what had just happened. His remaining intact wing flapped instinctively, forcing him into a rapid 360 spin of feathers and blood.

Kirby didn't flinch.

His star flew straight downwards, keeping itself horizontal as he kept pace with the falling ex-Star Warrior. The momentum was too much to move, nearly forcing him to lose his grip on the star as it plummeted like a broken elevator. He crawled to the tapered front end of the Warp Star before leaping off the tip, launching himself into the air with his sword held in both hands.

Both warriors were roughly 10 seconds from the ground.

Kirby used the momentum of tipping off the star tip to break into a spin, as perfectly symmetrical as a gymnast as he held out his sword in front of him. He was barely able to see anything past his whirling blade, falling as fast as his opponent. He aimed dead center for the spherical magenta form, ignoring the flailing and blood, ignoring everything.

The sword hit him. The momentum of the fall coupled with the force of Kirby's sword hitting him in the back hit him with tremendous force. Galactic Knight plummeted to the ground even faster, the blade cutting a single, deep cut in him from above his right eye to his left foot. His mask was cleanly sliced in half, falling away and spinning off into the sky.

Galactic Knight fell, fell...

The Knight hit the earth with a sickening thud and the light squish of crunching bone and armor. A grisly rain of his own blood poured around him not a second later, his one remaining wing broken and mashed flat against his back. Kirby landed a few seconds later, having been given a gentle if not dizzying last-minute save from Warp Star.

He cautiously approached Galactic Knight, blade still out and ready for more. Galactic Knight was still breathing, each breath ragged, uneven, his lungs crushed into themselves by the impact. He managed to open his bleary eyes which were beginning to dim out behind the lens, peering up at the face of he who had sealed his fate. It was then that he truly saw Kirby as he was: devoid of malice, curious, ready to fight but only if he had to. He looked into his eyes, studying them, and it was then that he realized what had truly bothered him.

Kirby looked EXACTLY like him at that age. The only difference was the color of their eyes - his skin was even the same shade of pale pink until it had darkened to magenta with age. However, there had been no new births on record for his people in a very long time. Each new spawn had a decades-long incubation period to begin with, despite having incredibly long life spans, and that combined with the population's low replenishing rate could not handle the pressures of war. His species was effectively extinct. And yet, here Kirby was, the single face of the next generation.

How...?

Suddenly, everything clicked; the resemblance, the uncanny and unnatural abilities, the age and naiveté. He thought about how old Kirby looked, a little over 100 years, and realized that that was not long after the time TAC had taken the lollipop stick from him. He remembered seeing things grow in those canisters as the pair passed by, countless experiments, one small and round, with beady oval eyes. In hindsight he realized that TAC wasn't a neat freak in a lab coat. He was a genetics specialist who wanted his DNA.

In a twisted, indirect and unnatural way...Kirby was his son.

Galactic Knight looked at Kirby in a new light. His eyes reverted to their natural cyan shade as he gazed at the boy with tenderness, the sorrow of over a millennia etched into his pained features. He and others of his kind had long since resigned themselves to never having a normal life, to not growing up and having a family; yet here he was, one of the last of his species, with a son! His very own son!

Kirby's stern expression melted into one of confusion.

Galactic Knight had no strength left in his body; he was beyond pain, his eyes becoming more dim and beginning to glaze over. The fog was coming in, entering his mind, confusing his thoughts; but the one remaining thought he had was that despite his massive failures, despite his betrayal, he somehow managed to do the one thing he vowed to do on the day of his induction into the Army; to bring some good into the world.

He then realized that while this child had been growing he had been off fighting, pursuing revenge, power. All pointless. Barely able to breathe to begin with, the tears choked him further. He was too weak to speak. Already inside he could hear the odd echoing pop-pop-pop resonating within his mind and body as it began to implode. It was his time to rejoin the stars.

His trembling increasing, he reached out to Kirby with an outstretched hand, gloved palm out. Bare face contorted with remorse he could never begin to express, he gasped "…son…", his final word fading into a soft sigh as his body went limp.

Kirby's eyes widened. He tilted his own body slightly at Galactic Knight, first one direction, then the other. The battered corpse continued to twitch and convulse, the popping growing louder as Galactic Knight's limbs began to darken to red.

Meta Knight screamed "Kirby, get away!"

Fumu, who had been watching in transfixed silence, came to her senses and ran over to snatch Kirby up. She ran away as fast as she could, managing to make it a few feet away right as Galactic Knight's body exploded. The blast knocked she and Kirby into the air about a dozen feet, the pair tumbling onto the soft grass a few feet away.

"Kirby, are you okay?" Fumu asked Kirby, but he didn't respond; he was turned to face the area where the body once was, eyes wide.

The remaining particles in the space where Galactic Knight's bloody body was began to gently rise, twinkling like tiny stars as they floated into the sky. The tiny flickering lights went higher and higher before drifting off into the stratosphere, never to be seen again.

Kirby looked at Fumu, the same quizzical expression on his face. He pointed to the sky and said "Saaaan?"

"Uh." Fumu muttered, eyes darting to her parents and Bun as she tried to think of what to say. She knew Kirby was young and probably not quite ready to handle what had just happened. She wasn't even sure that was really what she heard.

"Yeah, he was just saying it's a bright sunny day!" Memu piped up. She had dealt with enough iffy questions from her own children to know how to cover up just about anything.

The others all began to nod in steady unison. "Yeah, that's it!" Fumu agreed hastily. "It's sunny!"

Sword Knight said "I'll go let the others in the cellar know that it's safe to come out now."

Blade Knight nodded, interjecting "And I'll go tell the village!"

"Kiiirby… I bet you sure are hungry after all of that." Fumu said slyly.

Kirby's eyes widened, forgetting about what just happened altogether – his dream of lovely tomatoes came back to haunt him all at once, and he could think of nothing else. He nodded enthusiastically.

"All of WHAT? Did I miss that too? Mother of Dynablade, what else am I going to miss today?" A raspy voice chimed in.

Tokkori flew over, landing on Kirby's head. Kirby blew Tokkori's yellow tail feathers out of his face, causing the bird to screech in surprise. Fumu smirked at his fashionably late entrance.

"Well Tokkori, at least you didn't miss brunch! Or is it lunchtime by now? Whatever. Let's eat!"

"I concur!" Parm shouted, and the group began to file out of the clearing with Kirby far in front.

Fumu jogged behind Kirby, trying to keep up before she slowed to a stop. She paused, looking over at Meta Knight. The caped warrior was still bashed up from his encounter, and had remained silent.

"…Sir? Are you okay?" Fumu asked.

"I will be fine." He said in a level voice. "Go on. I'll see you later."

Fumu shrugged and took off, breaking into a run to catch up with Bun and Kirby.

Meta Knight had his back to the entire group, staring at the spot of dried, vaporized blood where Galactic Knight once was. He stood still, silent, for a long time. Slowly the veteran warrior looked to the sky, softly murmuring something in his old language.

His eyes were gray.


End file.
